


if i ruled the world

by shshie



Category: f(x), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Criminals, Alternate Universe - Thieves, F/M, First Love, Forbidden Love, Gun Violence, Love Triangles, M/M, Minor Violence, Realization, Unrequited Crush, World Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:33:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 37,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25525216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shshie/pseuds/shshie
Summary: jeon jungkook's dream to rule the world vanished when he was eight. he didn't know that he's living his dream since he found seven strangers with the same scars as him.robbing banks in europe, dealing with a mafia in russia, stargazing in new zealand, and a whole lot of first times (that includes falling in love).history doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes.
Relationships: Bangtan Boys Ensemble/Bangtan Boys Ensemble, Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V, Jung Soojung | Krystal/Park Jimin (BTS), Kim Taeyeon/Min Yoongi | Suga
Kudos: 3





	1. danger

**Author's Note:**

> i've read a couple aus that goes like this, but of course, i added a little twist to be a little different. i'm sorry in advance, if ever there are inaccuracies. hello to money heist, this is for you!

"you son of a bitch."

jungkook closes his eyes as another plate flew onto the wall next to him. he used his arm to hide his face, accepting every piece of glass splinter to every part of his body. his knuckles are white, his lower lip bleeding because he's biting it so hard, trying to refrain himself from fighting back.

his father always does this. breaking a piece of anything to the wall, throwing him everything he touches, punching him. he doesn't know why. maybe just for fun? fuck that reason. he just wanted to leave this house and live somewhere else, far from his father's shit.

but namjoon told him that walking away without anything else is petty. he doesn't have money, and he'll die as soon as he live on the streets of busan. so he waits for the right time to run from all this bullshit.

their neighbors always told him that he will have a bright future ahead. he might be one of those k-idols performing on stage, or a CEO of a known brand worldwide. but his dream is something else that no person ever achieved. he wanted to rule the world. but who would know that a little kid in busan with big, doe eyes and has the cutest smile in their hometown will be the opposite of what they expected?

his family was like the one in the cliché movies with a hardworking father and a loving mother. they used to be happy. not until he celebrated his 8th birthday and witnessed his mom killed herself. since that happened, the world he wanted to rule turned upside down. his father became different. he learned all the bad things people do out of selfishness. he became one of those greedy guys. he stopped dreaming since he knew that the people in the world he wanted to rule are some pieces of egocentric individuals.

he hated his mom, because she started all of this. they were happy, why would she end her life? his father might be selfish, but his mother is the most selfish of all.

"that bitch died twelve years ago," he whispered.

"what did you say?!" his father's face turned red in anger. he ran towards him, held and twisted his neck, but he can still breathe. he strangled him, but in a weak way. jungkook can feel it. 

"no need to kill me. i can kill myself, just like the way mom did. that's what you wanted, right?"

his grip was loosened. he started sobbing, but that doesn't make jungkook soft. he's so done with him. he left him there, crying all by himself. what do you expect? he will comfort his father that almost kills him everyday? no. he's no good guy. he's the villain in every comic you read. he does no good things. he's a mess.

he ran away and went to the nearest convenience store. stole some chips to feed his hungry stomach because he hadn't eaten anything for the whole 20 hours, and went out like he did nothing. he squeezed himself into the tight crowd, walking and swiftly working his hands to reach out for the wallets in their back pockets, without anyone noticing. because that's what bad guys do.

he lingered his hands onto his sixth victim, but as soon as he stretched out his hand, a guy walked in front of him and jungkook saw how fast he pulled the wallet he stole. he refrained his hands from picking the wallet before he gets caught. he decided to follow the guy who still walks comfortably. a thief robbing another thief is not a good thing to hear, and it hurts his pride.

the guy he follows crosses streets like the other pedestrians without being noticed. until it's the dead end of the street and he lost the guy. he, then, turned back with heavy shoulders. but before he could take a step, a gun was already aimed at his temple. he looked sideways, seeing a woman with a stone-cold expression, the blankest face he's ever seen in his life. she looks at him like she doesn't care if he dies right in front of her now.

but of course, jungkook are friends with death, thanks to his fucked up dad for letting him meet death many times, almost everyday. he wasn't scared of dying. in fact, he'd be glad for it.

"what now? are you just going to stare? pull the trigger, lady. i'm getting impatient."

he survived and lived after receiving multiple blows from his father. he even thought once that he's immortal. or maybe life hates him for being friends with death so it makes him suffer just by breathing.

"come inside, you fucked up dude."

his brows furrowed in confusion as he heard that familiar voice. it was namjoon, the only person on earth who never hated him.

the girl lowered her gun and guided him inside. he took too long to notice that the door of that hideout was designed like bricks to camouflage the wall. it was smart, and he was sure that namjoon was the one who made it.

when he finally stepped inside, he saw the guy he's following, looking down. the girl sat beside him. on the other side of the room, four other guys with clouded expression met his eyes. and there goes namjoon, crossing his arms.

"you're lucky that it was jungkook who caught you. i thought we're fucked up," namjoon said while looking at the guy. all their eyes are now focused on him.

"i didn't know. it was just him who noticed--" the guy tried to explained but he was cut off by namjoon, saying. "yes, idiot. because you robbed another thief. of course he would notice if the same trick he used was used against him."

the guy, still looking down, whispered sorry, in a most insincere way. his eyes are dark and his expression never changed since he saw him on the streets. he never looked up, not even looked at him in the eye.

namjoon sighed. "seriously, just be careful, taehyung. don't let it happen again."

the guy he called taehyung just nodded, and that's when the girl chimed in. "you know him, joon? does it mean he's joining us too?"

"joining what? what's going on, hyung?" jungkook asked, finally found the right words to speak.

"well, you just happened to meet the group of people who robbed several banks in different parts of korea," the guy replied, his gaze looking like he's tired just by speaking.

"no one's joining nothing. he's too young," namjoon said.

"oh wow. we started this shit when taehyung was 15," the guy argued.

their exchanges of fire led the girl to throw her boots at them. luckily, they both dodged her attack and stopped speaking when she glared. a few questions were asked, and jungkook found himself in their house, packing his clothes and leaving his sleeping dad on the couch. no goodbyes, because it wasn't needed. he felt excited. finally, he's going out of hell. he doesn't mind living with strangers as long as he's with namjoon because he's the only one he trusts. for now.

their so-called hideout was a mess, but the others explained that they have a house with five rooms, namjoon, krystal (the only girl) and taehyung occupying three rooms alone and the other four paired to share the remaining two rooms. since jungkook moved in, he's going to be namjoon's roommate.

he can't believe how fast it all happened. the others seemed distant to him, especially krystal and taehyung, but they still told their stories to him. all four of them having the same scars with different causes, and jungkook is just in the process of healing the wound his father caused. he shared his story too, but didn't mention anything about his mom, which the others didn't mind.

three months is enough for jungkook to know their different sides. yoongi's sarcastic but tsundere, seokjin's fatherly, hoseok, which happened to be krystal's brother, is funny but easily annoyed, jimin's both a devil and an angel. while krystal and taehyung, they're just like that. they rarely speak, and when they does, he always flinch. it's hard to get to know somebody who doesn't want to let you in. they're both hard cookies to break.

there's one time that jungkook broke a plate and stepped on some splinters. he just cleaned his mess, but krystal noticed it and she overreacted. she kept on asking if he's hurt somewhere else and initiated in cleaning his wound. he doesn't really mind it. his dad broke many pieces of soju bottles, some of the splinters of those are still under his skin because he can't remove it with tweezers. stepping onto more of them is nothing to him anymore. after that incident, krystal's back to her old self, as if nothing happened. she never spoke to him again. while taehyung is just being taehyung. rarely talking, not meeting anybody's eyes.

"hyung," he asked joon one time. "do they hate me?" pertaining to the two. namjoon surely knows who. "they're so cold and distant. i tried to talk to them several times but it seems like they don't want me to know them just like the others. taehyung never looks at me and krystal's always glaring."

joon didn't know what to say. he wanted to cheer jungkook up, but he, also doesn't know why those two are like that. they suddenly become more serious and less talkative when jungkook is around.

"what if..." jungkook continued. "i just go back to busan? i don't want your team to be busted just because they don't like me, hyung."

he suddenly panicked, jungkook can see it. "guk," he whispered softly. "taehyung never looks at people's eyes. he's stone cold. if yoongi likes to keep everything to himself, taehyung's more than that. and krystal... she and hoseok aren't siblings for no reason, you know? krystal can be funny as hoseok and hoseok can be serious like krystal. you just need time to get used to them. how would you think others will react if you suddenly back out? please stay, guk. for me as your hyung, at least?"

jungkook doesn't know what to say. he really wanted to leave, but he doesn't want to disappoint joon. so he stays. atleast, for the other five who likes him.

he slept off the doubts that night, hoping that the next day, the two will join them for breakfast. that's the biggest thing he awaits every morning.

everything feels like a miracle the other day. he rubbed his eyes many times after seeing krystal cooking pancakes for breakfast-- for the first time. taehyung's dozing off on the table, but when krystal slapped his head, he stood up and helped her. jungkook was used to them waking up late, their breakfast are always after them, and the only reason he could think of is, those two are avoiding him. but this sight is enough for him to start his day right.

he didn't notice the five guys behind him, wide-eyed as they watch the two in the kitchen.

"you never told me that your sister can cook," seokjin said.

"i didn't know!" hoseok whisper-yelled.

"pancakes are the easiest to cook. not like gordon ramsay will be amazed just because of that," yoongi said, not too amazed. he's the first to walk towards them. he leaned to look what krystal is doing. "how do you draw a letter j in a pancake? and what does it means? joon?" yoongi teased more.

"fuck off," krystal said, shoving him away.

the smell of pancakes makes their tummies growl early in the morning, especially if the two of the laziest made them. krystal showered maple syrup to every plate, but the one with strawberries on top caught their attention.

"what's the strawberry for? i thought you don't like them?" jimin asked krystal, who only replied that it's not for her. "oh, so that's for me? does the letter j means jimin?" he excitedly asked.

"no," krystal said and looked at him with disgust. "we just thought that we had to keep up with someone we treated badly." as soon as she finished her sentence and poured the maple syrup, she pushed the plate towards jungkook. "you always search for strawberries first when we're shopping so i thought you liked them a lot."

jungkook couldn't speak. krystal's right. one thing he couldn't give up are strawberries. how did she notice that? after he talked with joon last night, krystal and taehyung acted like this, as if giving him a reason to stay. and what made him blush-- is seeing krystal smile-- for the first time.

yoongi whistled teasingly. they all didn't realize that taehyung finished his breakfast while krystal's making her drama. he got up and went to his room silently.

before they started to eat, krystal told them, "taehyung heard you last night and he talked to me. it was his idea. please don't think of leaving again." and it was all jungkook needed to smile widely, feeling warm. he didn't even notice his face getting redder than the strawberries on his plate.

time flies fast. they just finished their last heist in korea before they flew to italy. everything remains the same to him, except krystal, making up to him. she's clinging to jungkook all the time, as if she didn't treat him badly and pointed him a gun. but that doesn't matter to him. what matters is, she earned krystal's trust. while taehyung... well... he'll get to him. he's still the same guy who doesn't talk and never looks at their eyes.

they became closer, like the family jungkook always wanted to have. far from the family he grew up to, and much better than the family he had when he was 8. everything's going so well.

his first day in italy's a mess. krystal went shoping with him and he dozed off to sleep as soon as they got home. that's the thing he will never do again. the second day, they all went out to see italy's beauty. he almost forgot that they're not here for a vacation because he's too mesmerized in everything. he doesn't mind, because he knew that they can pull it off. everything's working well until the third day, when taehyung and him was left all alone in the house. each one has individual plans and he thought he had the house all for himself.

"do you want me to leave?" taehyung asked, hands working on his fidget spinner, eyes focused on the docu-film he's watching.

"why would i?" jungkook countered as he sat beside him, not minding the awkwardness between them because he was more interested in what he's watching.

they didn't realize that the docu-film was followed by another one, and another, until they lost count. they binge watched documentaries about different things.

"i once wanted to become a marine biologist," taehyung suddenly said. they're watching a film now about sharks and different kinds of it. the fisherman being interviewed, asking why humans are afraid of sharks. when in fact, a single shark can kill one human, but a human can kill five sharks. that's how wrecked and selfish people are, jungkook thought.

"i once wanted to rule the world," jungkook shared, which made taehyung chuckle.

their childhood are both corrupted. jungkook doesn't know anything about him, but he's sure that just like him, he became what he is now because someone stole his rights to dream big.

jungkook was too focused, he didn't realize taehyung looking at him, smiling. he doesn't know, but taehyung has always looked at him like this without anyone noticing. he doesn't know that taehyung always leaves first, so that the others won't see him staring from afar. no one knows that taehyung always has his eyes on him. he doesn't know, and he doesn't need to.

"but what about--" jungkook was about to ask something regarding the report, but he stopped when he finally noticed taehyung looking at him.

for the first time, he saw taehyung's eyes. up close. not dark, but glistening from the bright light of the LED. he doesn't want to blink. he's afraid that if he closes his eyes, taehyung will be the same. cold and distant. fuck that docu, jungkook thought, taehyung's eyes are way deeper than the sea.

they were too caught up in staring at each other's eyes that they didn't notice the six people entering the house. it was a unique sight for them to see the two beside each other, sharing a bowl of popcorn, and most importantly, looking at each other. five of them are amazed, and the remaining one is hurt.

namjoon straightened the map on top of the table, the others surrounding it. after a week of rest, it's time for them to plan for what they came here for.

he explained everything, starting from plan A up to D, assigned their positions. joon monitors them from afar. it took them hours to plan and scout to make everything perfect, just like how they used to do it as a team.

it's the end if august and they're finally inside the bank. jungkook always loved this feeling. thrilled, excited. he stuffed all he sees in his duffel bag and passed it to yoongi when he saw him. he was about to get out, following krystal, when they suddenly heard the sound of alarms in each floor.

his heart thumped fast, he was frozen. krystal needed to pull him away while joon shouts on their earpiece, saying they should run. the others had to go first because they had the money. good thing they both passed the bags to yoongi. but the real hassle is them, running all the way in different directions they're not familiar with. they don't know what's funny, but they're laughing as they passed every street, confusing the police.

joon told them to run on top of roofs to make it faster. jungkook has to hold krystal's hand so he could guide her and run together without leaving her behind. it seemed like an endless marathon with no prize, but they enjoyed. they ended up lying beside each other, madly laughing.

it's not too long before they heard seokjin's voice, telling them to go down and just laugh inside the car. they finally got rid of the police, fortunately.

they didn't know what went wrong. everyone followed joon's plan, all assigned to their places before the alarm rang. they almost got busted, thanks to krystal ang jungkook who enjoyed the longest run in their life for confusing the police. but a failed plan is a failed plan, and it made joon furious. none of them spoke. jungkook doesn't even want to meet his gaze.

the others look mad too. and krystal, who was happy a minute ago, transformed into the cold woman he first met. he doesn't get it. taehyung is the first to stand up, followed by jimin, seokjin, hoseok and krystal, yoongi, then namjoon. he was left in the basement, alone.

he looked at the clock on the wall. few more ticks, and it struck 12. it's the first day of september. his birthday. joon was the only one who knew, but he probably forgot now. he lowered his head and wiped the few tears on his cheeks. he was disappointed. it was his first birthday with the people he treated as family, but they fucked up.

until the door opened and the next thing he knew, he was being dragged by someone he can't see clearly because of the damn tears. they stopped, he's still wiping his tears. the person who dragged him impatiently wiped his eyes and cheeks with his thumb.

and he saw taehyung.

the cold breeze of air in the rooftop welcomed him. once again, he met those tantalizing eyes. their small moment that one time that makes him smile like an idiot everytime he closes his eyes, was repeated once again. this time, it's closer.

"i'm sorry i can't light the whole fucking sky with fireworks so i brought these sparkles instead," taehyung said.

he counted the longest words he heard from taehyung. 17. that was a record. he handed him the long sparkles and a lighter. they both lit the stick, and jungkook was amazed. it was his first time seeing this. it's like he has his own fireworks on his hand.

he, again, looked at taehyung, who was looking at him at this moment. this time, with a face much worthy to remember, because he's smiling. ear-to-ear. it's a sight more beautiful than the scenery in italy, or even in korea. it's a sight he doesn't get to see everyday. a sight, which he pressumed, haven't seen by anyone else. he gave jungkook the best birthday present-- his smile, and his glistening eyes that reflects the sparkle fireworks on their hands.

"it's not your fault. happy birthday."

it was all he needed to hear, and taehyung is the least expected person to tell him those. but it was worth it. who would know that the stone-cold guy has a smile like that? it was worth-seeing. how he wish he could take a picture of it and display it in every place he goes to.

they spent the rest of the night on the rooftop after the fireworks. they were quiet at first, munching the foods he stole from their fridge. until jungkook decided to ask how he knew.

"i just know," taehyung said, not wanting jungkook to know that he stalked all his social media accounts to know when's his birthday. "why didn't you tell us?"

it was not worth knowing, anyways. it's just his birthday. it's like he's not used to celebrating it with his father's curses. the most memorable gift he received from him is the scar on his cheek, because of the bread knife he threw at him. 

"i don't want to celebrate birthdays," he confessed, half-truth. "because it was also my birthday when mom killed herself in front of me. dad put all the blame in me for not stopping her. after that, he became an ass. throwing all the objects to me, punching me when he loses from his gambling shits. what a selfish parents i had." finally, he was able to tell a thing about his mom without being emotional. "what about you? i never heard a thing about you."

taehyung breathed in. "my parents made all the cliché love stories come to life. just like you, i saw how they died. they pointed the guns on each other and boom. hyung tried to cover my eyes and ears that time, but i saw and heard everything. they killed each other."

jungkook hesitates to ask at first, but it came out suddenly out of his mouth. "where is he? your brother?"

taehyung chuckled. "probably sleeping soundly now inside his room with hoseok."

jungkook's eyes widened. "seokjin hyung?! he's your brother?" he squealed. "why didn't he tell me?!"

"he mentioned it. remember when he said that his brother's all fucked up as much as him? that fucked up guy was me."

he took much all of it in. jungkook couldn't find any physical resemblance, except that they're both good-looking. their attitudes are opposite, too. how come?

"i know what you're thinking," taehyung said. jungkook just gulped. "we're like krystal and hoseok too."

they spent the rest of the night bickering, smiling and laughing around like idiots. they used the thin mat as a blanket as they lay down and looked above. cliché as it is, but jungkook loves it, with taehyung who lets him see the side that he doesn't show to others, his birthday felt more special. he couldn't ask for more.

"what do you think about madrid?" jungkook asked.

"i don't enjoy traveling that much. i saw italy in pictures and in real life but i felt nothing."

"what are you? a robot?"

taehyung answered with a smile. he just looked at jungkook as if the stars are in his eyes. he never laughed like this. it makes him cringe that it just takes one guy for him to melt down without even trying. he's not a fan of romance. not even the type who believes in love after witnessing his parents' stupidity. but just as his brother described him, when he met jungkook, he knew he was fucked up.

it just takes a while for them to forget what happened. back to business. they traveled to madrid after finally getting over what happened in milan. taehyung and jungkook remained silent about what happened that night, although both their roommates are wondering why they didn't sleep in their rooms. they fell asleep on the rooftop. or maybe the right thing to say it, jungkook only fell asleep. taehyung spent the whole time staring at him and realizing how he fucked him up real bad.

everyone got suspicious when the two pointed each other when joon gave them the privelege to pick who they want to share a room with. but none of them spoke. not seokjin, who kept on eyeing his brother that acts just as he is. krystal's raising an eyebrow too, intrigued on what suddenly happened. yesterday they were awkward and then the next day they wanted to be roommates. odd.

"guk," she called once. jungkook ran towards her and she can't help but smile. he's too cute. why did she even treated him badly before? "yeah?" he asked as he sat beside her.

"what's the deal? is something going on?" she started. the boy doesn't know what to answer. until he felt taehyung sat between them, holding a bowl of cereal and pressing the remote to watch another docu-film. "have you changed your career into a gossip columnist now with us as your blind item?" he asked, gaze focused on the screen.

"oh gosh. you speak too much! i thought your words are only limited to five?"

taehyung scrunched his nose in annoyance. krystal tried to watch the film with them but she failed to understand anything so she gave up. the boys didn't move their ass a bit since they started watching. it's 11 PM when they got bored after finishing the fourth film, and taehyung decided to go out for a walk, inviting jungkook with him.

"hyung, i'm going out," taehyung shouts.

"since when did that kid learned to ask permission when leaving?" seokjin whispered to namjoon but he just shrugs.

"let him be like that. the quiet taehyung scares me."

they pulled their hoodie up as the cold breeze of air welcomed them. winter season's about to come, which jungkook hates the most because he can't go out and he's uncomfortable of wearing layers of coat.

"i feel like a normal tourist on vacation," taehyung said. "i always wanted to be normal. the one who doesn't hide from the police. but i always wanted to have dollars, so it's fine with me."

jungkook laughs. "i like this new version of you."

taehyung smiled widely, his mouth forming a boxy smile. the smile he shows only to jungkook. seokjin have seen it too, but he probably forgot how he looks because it's been years since he last smiled genuinely.

"me too. i like me better when i'm with you."

maybe it's the slip of the tongue which made him say the truth in that way. his ears went red as he looked away from jungkook, failed to see his flushed cheeks and wide smile. just like that, they became like a normal teenage couple going out on their first date.

they sat on small pieces of rock as they stare into the ocean, the cold waters splashing onto their faces everytime the waves went hard. they're unstable, messy, unpredictable. same goes with jungkook's feelings.

"let's go. i'm cold."

he stood up and taehyung followed him towards the path back to their home. his hands are freezing even under his pockets. winter's really being a bitch right now.

"you hate cold," taehyung said. one thing that jungkook admires about him is he understands and notices everything, even without words. he nodded with a frown. "here, feel my hand," taehyung offered.

he didn't hesitate to take it. it's warm. he intertwined their hands. it fits just perfect as if it's meant to be there. it was enough to feel heat in every part of his body. taehyung's hand works like magic. jungkook looked up, only to see his flushed red face.

"you're too cute."

taehyung's mouth opened slightly, shocked of what he heard. in his years of acting cold, cute is not the right term for him. but knowing that jungkook's the one who said it made him blush more.

"stop it," he said as he breathe in all the air he could take in. his red face might get purple any minute now.

he giggles as they walk, holding hands, the other one shy and awkward, the other one smiling all the way as the chills felt different.

but neither of them let go.

┈┈┈┈․° ☣︎ °․┈┈┈┈

"hold it like this," krystal guided jungkook's hands, currently trembling right now because it's his first firing lessons. they all consider krystal as the best in long range shooting, so she will be his teacher. "focus on the heart, then fire."

krystal's on his back, guiding his arms towards the target. their position's kinda awkward, it makes him lose his focus. aside from the fact that he remembers his mom now because of the weapon.

"if only you stay back for a second so he can fire. you don't have to be so close," taehyung said at the back, scrolling his phone on his right hand and playing with his fidget spinner on the left. jungkook couldn't hear because of the ear muffs. krystal looked back and glared, but it was no use because he wasn't looking at her in the first place. the other boys laugh because taehyung's so obvious, but they couldn't tease him. they might not admit it, but they're scared of him.

"you go and teach him here if you want," krystal ordered. and taehyung, of course, doesn't know how to joke, stood up and whispered to jungkook's ear muffs. she sat beside the others. "that guy's being an ass. he's getting disrespectful!"

"he's on his puberty stage, so," seokjin said. krystal furrowed her brows, and it seems like she's the only one who doesn't understand so it made them laugh more.

meanwhile, jungkook's more focused now after taehyung replaced krystal. "don't think about anything now," he whispered. he even caught the little smile he gave.

it took him a long time to learn how to fire properly, and he never thought that he would use it as soon as they carry out their mission in madrid, when one of the bank security guards caught him in act while stuffing all the money in his duffel bag. he hesitates. he knows that he's been taught how to fire guns to use what he learned when this kind of situation comes, but he doesn't want to kill or hurt anybody. he doesn't want to be like his parents.

"fuck it, i thought the guards are all unconscious?!" joon shouts from their earpiece. he's monitoring all of them now. "guk, shoot him," he ordered. the guard slowly walks towards him. if he wouldn't shoot him, he will be the one who gets shot. but he hesitates. of all people, why him?!

he held the gun hidden on his waist, but before he could do it, the guard fell down. there, he saw taehyung at the back that is now walking towards him. he held jungkook's trembling and sweaty hands and gave it a squeeze, to tell him that everything's fine and under control. he pulled him towards the car where seokjin awaits them. as soon as they stepped in, the car left.

krystal and taehyung squeezed jungkook between them. they're both trying hard to calm him down while hoseok, at the passenger's seat, filled their ears with profanities. he blames himself because he's incharge of knocking the securities down. they almost got busted because he fucking failed, and joon's more upset while waiting for them at the rendezvous area, knowing that 2 consecutive heists fucked them up.

as expected, joon's furious. all of them are. but none of them blames hoseok, because they are a team. blaming does no good. they don't need to curse him because they all know that hoseok will do better next time. krystal came to jungkook and taehyung's room, worried.

they all flew to new zealand the day after that. and there, namjoon decided to take a break. a month is enough to pull themselves together and enjoy after what happened. they all knew that jungkook is the reason behind this decision, and they all agreed for the sake of their youngest. they all never let him alone, brought him to places with great sceneries, and they can't deny that taehyung contributed a lot to it. he makes breakfast for him, binge watch docu-film and anime series he loved, the fullmetal alchemist. he really has a soft spot for jungkook.

they all saw how taehyung change, and krystal never failed to tell them everyday that it's the thing she watched from cliché movies out there. they knew, but they never said a word. they just let them enjoy, because that's what make them happy. after all the years of taehyung's sulking and cold personality, he transformed into a lovely and energetic guy. all because of jungkook.

he slowly forgets how the guard lost his life in front of him. he remembers his mom and it always bothers his sleep. the nightmare of his 8th birthday happened again, but thanks to them, especially taehyung, he's able to move on from it.

"i bet you can't wash your face with the cold water on the lake," krystal challenged them. taehyung stopped driving the van, him and jungkook looked at each other as they both opened the car door. the rest of them followed the two, only to see them laughing together while splashing water to each other. krystal wanted to join the fun, and the three of them ended giggling and trembling in cold.

they stopped by at the coffee shop with a nice view of grassland and dozens of sheep walking on it. they all loved the view, the owner even handed them one and jungkook really loved it. taehyung secretly took a picture of him and set it as his wallpaper. the little things jungkook does all matter to him. the giggles, his bunny smile, the tiny claps he does when he's excited, everything.

when they had their orders, they sat altogether in a long table, talking about everything that doesn't make sense, but still making them happy.

"guk, when's your birthday?" krystal suddenly opened up. she just wanted to know, because it's her birthday tomorrow. they're not really the type to celebrate birthdays. they just give gifts, and that's all.

"september first," namjoon answered.

"i didn't ask you," she said, about to roll her eyes, but she stopped. "oh my god! it's the time in italy, right? when we almost--" joon stopped her loud mouth from speaking too much by putting churros in her mouth, afraid that others might hear. "fuck you joon! but how was it? we were not in the mood that time so we didn't greet you!"

jungkook doesn't know what to say or do. he was happy because taehyung was the only one by his side back then. a simple celebration, but that's the time when everything about them changed.

"you didn't sleep in our room that time. don't tell me you got mad?" yoongi asked. jungkook immediately shook his head. "no! it was great! i had... fun."

"taehyung too," jimin chimed in. "he didn't sleep." and that's when everyone got suspicious of them. the two suspects just looked outside, ears and cheeks red, trying hard to not smile.

silence filled the air, but they end up cracking a laugh. taehyung couldn't help but join too. if he's just his old self, the others might stop laughing and look at him like an alien because he never laughs. but they got used to his giggles, smiles and laughs now, which is actually a good thing.

"so how did you celebrate?" seokjin asked. "i bet you stole my snacks in the fridge for your celebration, you kids."

"we did. tae lit some sparkle fireworks then we slept at the rooftop."

jimin whistled, "smells like romance. what's the deal between you now?"

they both don't know what to answer. everyone's quiet, waiting for them to speak. krystal decided to break the ice. "you're not boyfriends, right?" still, they don't know. jungkook shook his head as an answer and the girl just smiled. taehyung didn't like it.

labels are useless. who cares about shits like it's complicated, single or anything? he knows what he feels and what taehyung feels. they haven't confessed but he doesn't need the words. he's more into their actions. it's mutual and that's what matters. he doesn't understand why people give labels power as boundaries.

but taehyung thinks otherwise. he doesn't understand why jungkook shook his head when it's krystal who asked. and then he remembered every moment with him, the way krystal chimes in, and then suddenly jungkook's attention is on her. he was always left out everytime she goes in. he remembered the time in italy, when jungkook and krystal ran, holding hands. and that gave him the idea that maybe he misunderstood his actions. maybe jungkook's sweet to everyone. the actions he show to everyone only means friendship and taehyung wasn't aware. maybe he just assumed. maybe that's just all in his mind.

jungkook smiles all the way while taehyung frowns. their thoughts are different but none of them are aware of it. 

"it's my birthday tomorrow! let's celebrate!" krystal said.

"we literally never celebrate birthdays," hoseok said in his 'disgusted' face.

"but taehyung started it! why not? we could celebrate joon and jimin's as well. then seokjin and tae on december! come on!"

krystal never takes 'no' as an answer. even if they don't want to, they have to. they ended up in the supermarket, everyone enthusiastic about the idea of their first birthday celebration together. except perhaps taehyung. jungkook's clinging to him the whole time but he doesn't talk. he's just smiling, talking to krystal and giving her suggestions in what to cook.

"maybe i should also shop for a dress?" she asked, which made the boys frown. krystal and shopping doesn't sound good to them. 

"you have tons of clothes, you look good in all those," jungkook said to convince her. krystal smiled widely, jumped around, and clung on jungkook's arm.

that's all taehyung needs to witness to finally remove jungkook's arm around him and walk out. fuck this day. he doesn't want to see jungkook like that with others, especially krystal. he stayed in the campervan alone, his head bobbed down while his music plays loudly. but his ears didn't fail to hear the car door opening. he looked up, saw jungkook's worried face staring at him.

"tae, what's wrong?" he asked. he opened his mouth, but he can't find the right words to say. he thinks he wouldn't understand, or maybe it's just senseless. maybe it's just him and his problems.

but he ended up speaking his mind, because deep inside him, he knew that out of all the people, jungkook would understand. he never judged. he never spoke ill. he always understands.

when jungkook knew, he suddenly felt guilty. he shouldn't have shook his head and just left the question unanswered. so he explained, too. because that's what they need. to communicate in order to fix things before it gets broken. he told him that they don't need the shitty label. because it doesn't make sense.

"look, label doesn't matter because no words can describe how i feel for you. if you doubt, just tell me and i will tell you the words you needed to hear."

"like what?" taehyung asks.

"i love you."

it left him speechless. fucked up. more fucked up. he doesn't know how many times he thought about this, but he is really fucked up, all thanks to jungkook. he was melted. he was different. he found the happiness he sought since his parents left in jungkook. more than he expected.

the moment he heard jungkook telling namjoon that he will leave, he consulted krystal, and her attitude changed immediately. she's the one he's most close with, even more than his brother. before he looked at jungkook's eyes, he looked at krystal's first. but he didn't see the galaxy in hers that he saw in jungkook's eyes.

he's not numb, nor blind. he knows krystal's feelings for jungkook, because he already experienced it. before she fell for jungkook, she fell for taehyung first. but he disregarded it because he doesn't want to involve feelings with work. of course, he ate his own words. just like what he said, jungkook turned his world upside down, in a good way.

their staring contest was cut off by seokjin's laugh as he opened the door. he coughed and smiled secretly, intentionally walking between them with plastic bags in his hands. 

"why did you bought so many things we don't need?" jungkook asked while looking at the dozens of bags beside him. he gets a mandarin and gave the other half to taehyung beside him.

"what's the point of being thrifty? we're almost billionaires, anyway," krystal says, shoving a spoonful of ice cream into taehyung's mouth.

he coughed as he tasted it. the flavor he hates the most is mint chocolate, and krystal knows it. she laughed hard because she succeeded in her plan of making taehyung taste the flavor she loved the most. jungkook got a bottle of water, opened it and immediately handed it to him, who's now glaring at krystal while struggling to remove the taste of it in his tongue.

"fuck that ice cream," he said as he shoves all the mandarin in his mouth. jungkook opened his mouth to ask for her ice cream, because he, too, loves it. krystal gave him what he wanted, and he ended up finishing the whole cup.

"it's delicious, right?" krystal asked. "taehyung's such a picky eater. why can't you eat mint chocolate?" 

"how do you like it when i add chocolate to your toothpaste when you brush your teeth?" taehyung asked back. he's always like this when talking to krystal. the two of them can't last a day without arguing. everyone thinks it's normal.

defeated, she just rolled her eyes, opened up her sling bag and pulled out two bars of mint chocolate. taehyung frowned more, even the other boys are disgusted. they all doesn't like it. krystal's actually happy that she found someone who understands her love for this flavor.

"woah! are these for me?" jungkook asks.

"originally, no. but since you love it, that's yours now. i actually have a lot of it." he gladly accepted her offer, opened up one pack and bites.

"oh my god," they heard seokjin reacts. "you two are disgusting. why do you eat shits like that?"

"ah, you're missing out, hyung. try it!" jungkook says. the older snorted and rolled his eyes in reply.

it's quite a nice month for them to live in new zealand as normal tourists. no heists, no planning, no pressure caused by the police. just traveling and admiring every scenery and getting more closer like a family, throwing jokes without getting butt hurt. jungkook felt accepted, after 12 long years, this is just what he wanted. he even got a bonus of receiving special love from taehyung.

krystal's birthday celebration was a mess. they forgot what they did, which most probably they didn't even want to remember. namjoon and seokjin danced like animals, yoongi and hoseok owned the karaoke mic and sang at the top of their lungs, jimin finished a dozen bottles of liquor alone and splashed the remaining bottles on top of their heads before he vomits and slept at the bathroom, taehyung gets some of krystal's clothes and wore it the whole night, krystal bangs her head to the rhythm of the song until she puked on hoseok's head. all of it happened in just one night.

and jungkook? well. he captured every moment with his camera, most are blurred because he was drunk, too. the others didn't even believe that it was real.

they all had their own plans for their last day in new zealand. they'll fly to brazil and start another heist in there, hopefully, without another fail. krystal and hoseok will have their sibling date. seokjin and namjoon will go to the museum while yoongi and jimin will try to catch some salmon. taehyung and jungkook plans to have a helicopter tour that lands on snowy land.

"kookie!" taehyung shouts. jungkook looks back, only to be welcomed by the large snowball that was thrown to him. it's all white around them, blinding.

"you're dead!" he shouts back as he piled a larger snowball on his palm that landed on taehyung's back.

the helicopter driver smiles while watching them run around. they were the only ones there, playing like kids, because they both never got the chance to play like this. their childhood was stolen by the selfish people they thought would support them. they ended up lying on the cold ground, tasting the snow.

they don't know what's funny but they're laughing all the time. their jaws hurt, but it doesn't stop their lips from stretching into a wide smile.

when the sun sets, they drove to the nearest lake. the snowy mountains were covered up by the darkness of the night. above it, the sea of constellations painted the sky. it's the first time they see the milky way like this, as if the stars are about to fall right on their heads.

"woah! look!" jungkook's eyes glistened, as if the sky dusts reflected on them. "see that? that's my star."

but taehyung didn't dare to look above. it wasn't impressive at all. what's more impressive for him is how jungkook manages to have his own galaxy resting in his eyes. it doesn't rival the galaxy above them.

jungkook looks above, wonders about everything. about him, his dad, his newly-found family, and taehyung. he's so overwhelmed. his eyes screams amazement the whole time, until he suddenly realized one thing.

happiness, the thing he longs to achieve for the whole 12 years of his life. but that something is beside him now, standing as a living person. he once thought that happiness is brief. that it is something that happens in a short while, then fades. after that, you're sad again. but as he met him, his definition of happiness changed. it's just taehyung holding his hand tight as if his life depends on it, taehyung smiling and laughing with him, taehyung blushing, taehyung sharing stories, taehyung breathing, taehyung this, taehyung that. his happiness revolves around taehyung. his happiness is taehyung himself.

he didn't know what he did to receive this amount of happiness. he was a bad guy afterall. but despite that, he was thankful. so much things changed in such a little time.

they ended up staring at each other again. taehyung's limbs acted on its own, and before he knows it, his lips already met jungkook's. none of them moved as they let the universe witness the love that they share. instead, they cherished this moment that they both know, will last for a long time.

they were the last to go home after a long and tiring, but unforgettable day. krystal's waiting for them outside, holding two shopping bags in her hands, wearing a wide smile. too far from the krystal that kungkook met a year ago. as soon as taehyung saw her, he clung his hand on jungkook's hand, almost losing circulation because of how tight he holds it. the girl lowered his gaze, and immediately lose the smile she's wearing after an hour of waiting for them.

taaehyung knew it. he suddenly felt sorry for her, but this is what he wanted her to know.

they spent their remaining time with endless stories while playing video games in the living room. the other boys are not dumb to notice krystal's silence. most of the time, she was the loudest in trashtalking each of them, contrary to this moment that she's all quiet and seemingly bored to even look at the screen in front. but just like the other times, they kept quiet. they all know how to find the right time to ask, and that moment is not now.

hoseok was the one to talk to her after they decided to sleep for the flight tomorrow. krystal vented out, and he listens. he advices, saying all the words to ease his sister. when he knew that she was already calm, he went back to his room. and that's when jungkook came in to talk to her.

the night was quiet. their talk was peaceful. krystal finally confessed. jungkook understood. but she needed to know that it wouldn't be reciprocated at all, just like how it happened with taehyung. it was quite funny how miserable her love life is. the only two guys she liked her whole life ended up together. she was left out. just like that, despite being rejected, she understood. because she remembered taehyung's words to her years ago.

that out of all the things that might happen, friendship should always remain. and she kept it.

maybe it was taehyung's habbit to eavesdrop. like how he knew jungkook's plan to leave them months ago, he also listened to jungkook and krystal's conversation. after hearing it all, he walked away with a smile on his face. their feelings were protected and the friendship remained. that's what matters to him.

┈┈┈┈․° ☣︎ °․┈┈┈┈

when namjoon promised that there won't be any hindrance again, he really meant it. it's been two weeks since they flew from new zealand, and it's been a week since they started planning. joon spent nights to come up with a more detailed plan to show them the rendezvous points, ins, outs, checkpoints, hideouts, and plans A to D. they were more focused.

and just like that, they successfuly spent the night at the bank where all their frustrations from the previous heists were vented out. smoothly, they got out and drove fast away, waiting for the morning to come so they can watch the news about how their performance went.

and joon shouts in victory. they remained unknown, millions of cash were nowhere to be found in the vaults. they flew to new york to celebrate a grand christmas victory.

before jungkook joined them, they spent seven years of christmas together in south korea. it's the only holiday they celebrate. they were all looking forward to it, making the whole mansion shine with decorations from the inside, up to outside. from another person's point of view, it's quite obvious that boys made the design. because it was real awful. krystal even described it as 'more hideous than a haunted house', but for the seven of them, it was beautiful. they even had their house tour to stare at their shitty decorations to stare at it for two hours.

garlands were hung unevenly, together with the christmas lights. the only presentable thing in their house is the tree, because krystal decorated it all by herself. eight gifts rested below it, all wrapped unevenly (except of course, krystal's) for their secret santa when the clock strucks twelve.

"yay! merry christmas!" jungkook squeals while making some drum rolls by hitting the pot with the spatula, walking in to every room to wake the members up. "it's christmas, guys! stand up and let's open up our gifts! come on!"

they were all groggy as they reached the living room. jungkook hit the spatula one last time to wake their dozing ass up. and he successfully did. taehyung's the first to get his gift under the tree, followed by the seven of them. they exchanged their gifts, partied all night, not minding if the karaoke machine blows up with their song choices. taehyung took that opportunity to pull jungkook to their room to give him his gift.

a camera.

"you always cover your ears everytime joon announces that we're flying to another country, and you do that when you're excited. i thought you must love every scenery you look at so you can use that to capture it."

jungkook smiles as he tried to work on his new camera. he was fast to capture his first shot. taehyung. he was too surprise to move an inch.

"what are you doing?!" taehyung asks, surprised.

"capturing the most beautiful scenery i've ever seen."

maybe it's their thing to smile while staring at each other's eyes after a flattering shit happened. but deep inside taehyung, he's just doing it to get back to the times when he can't look at him in the eye.

"sorry i don't have a gift for you," jungkook says after the minute-long silence. "do you mind if i make a gift for you right now?"

he took a long time to answer, and another long time to process what jungkook did. he immediately gave the gift he was talking about by just pressing his lips onto taehyung.

they joined the others immediately after. they were basically just the same when they left, only a little more strange than before. hoseok and krystal are quietly sipping their beers, staring at the microorganism crawling on the carpet, maybe a billion times smaller than them. the siblings only has two moods when drunk. either they're too loud, or too quiet. the others are banging their heads while singing along to the song, their fingers formed into a famous rock n roll sign.

"ah, i felt dizzy!" seokjin complained. "taehyungiieeeee!"

the younger one came to him after he heard his name from his brother. well, he has his own attitude when drunk. he tells senseless stories from the past.

"i miss mom! she's so stupid!" he said. taehyung chuckled as seokjin cuddled between them. jungkook chuckles too, because he also thinks that his mom's stupid. bless them for having parents who greets death easily like an old friend. "ah! tae! remember when you peed on the carpet when you were seven and mom sat on it? that was hilarious!"

jungkook cracked a laugh as he asked taehyung if it really happened, and the latter answered him by rolling his eyes. they were all having fun as the jung siblings regained their energy and joined them sing and dance again.

everything feels good and perfect for jungkook. it was all he needed.

┈┈┈┈․° ☣︎ °․┈┈┈┈

russia is their next destination. their flight was moved two hours later, so all they did was to play a litte and exercise their brain with joon's little capital game.

"switzerland."

"swiss!" jungkook screams, proud. they all cracked up.

"it's bern, dumbass," said krystal.

"next, belgium."

silence filled the air. seokjin held his stomach to prevent it from growling. he was hungry.

"waffle," he mouthed.

their laughs echoed along the waiting area. seokjin laughed at himself too as yoongi clears that the answer is brussels.

"you must be hungry. let's eat first."

jungkook held taehyung's hands as they walk. krystal, at their back, noticed the sweet moment, so she ran and jumped on taehyung's back for a piggy back ride.

"always remember that i'm always here to ruin your moment. let's go, horsie! hiyaaaah!"

the younger just laughed as taehyung rolls his eyes. he doesn't even count how many times this girl made him do that since they started living together. his eyeballs are tired of it.

jimin noticed their sweet little moment too. jungkook was unaware that he planned to do what krystal did, he almost lost his balance. this time, taehyung laughed and he glared at jimin.

"sorry! yah, hold my hand too, so we can match!" he offered his hands to krystal, which she gladly accepted.

they ended up looking like fools at the airport, but none of them minded it. except of course, hoseok, who whispered to yoongi beside him.

"look at that asshole trying his shitty moves on my sister."

"that smells like third heartbreak, don't you think?" yoongi replied with a shrug and left him there.

their russia heist was something worth remembering. namjoon's really on fire, he doesn't let anything slip off. he monitors all of them thoroughly, reminding them about every single thing they have to do. good thing they was able to work well under pressure. it was successful.

morning on new year's eve when seokjin asked for jungkook's permission to borrow taehyung to have a little bonding. same as krystal asked taehyung to borrow jungkook too, to accompany her and jimin. they both agreed and went off early, leaving the other three who will shop for ingredients for yoongi's cooking later.

"what's the deal now?" seokjin asked taehyung. they're in the mall to shop. he raised his eyebrow, asking what he meant. "jungkook."

he looked above for a while, but ended up shrugging. "i don't know."

he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "we're not blind to not notice. if you're trying to hide it, you failed." taehyung seems lost in his mind. seokjin, instead of getting impatient, smiled. "what? was it that complicated?"

taehyung couldn't answer. he, too, doesn't know. they're both touchy. can't last a minute without holding or clinging to each other, stealing kisses from time to time, and everything that couples do. but they don't know what to call it. was it platonic? because jungkook clearly stated that he doesn't need the label. they also didn't pay much attention to the sudden transition of their relationship from being awkward to being like that, so they have really no idea.

"this is the first time i've seen you like that," seokjin commented after taehyung's long silence. "it doesn't matter to me or to all of us. if you're both happy, we're also happy."

he couldn't help but smile as he ran his hands to the clothes to find what he'll love. seokjin opened his mouths, about to ask for more details, but a familiar voice stopped him.

"this will look good on taehyung."

"yeah, find a bigger size. that looks like it will only fit jimin."

"hey! i'm sexy alright?"

they don't need to turn their heads to look at them. they know who they are. taehyung smiles to himself after knowing that jungkook still thinks about him even when they're not together.

seokjin whispered something to him, and he grinned in return. the older grabbed a coat and put it on to dress up as someone else. he clung his arms to taehyung. the latter, then, picks up his phone to act.

"oh, seokjin hyung?" he kept his voice low, but loud enough for the three to hear. jungkook heard him and immediately turned his gaze to him, two shelves away from their position. "it's okay if you have other plans. i'll just go on my own. yes, i don't have someone with me."

jungkook raised his eyebrow, while jimin and krystal looked at him with wide eyes. the girl was about to go to taehyung, but jungkook held her arms and whispered that he wanted to follow them.

the three kept themselves hidden while following the two, who were laughing quietly because of their dumb prank.

"dude, i'm hungry," seokjin whispered to his ear. jungkook flinches at the sight, as the guy's face was too close. he wanted to know who was that, but the facemask covers half of his face.

"we can't eat, dumbass. save your tum for yoongi's foods later," taehyung replied. his brother smacks his butt as a reply. he smacked seokjin's butt in return, making them laugh more, but silently.

meanwhile, jungkook's already clenching his jaw behind them. krystal's infamous ice expression came out, and jimin is already glaring. the three were mad, especially jungkook, who witnesses this disgusting thing in front of him.

when taehyung got bored of their acting, they squeezed themselves in a large crowd of people to escape from the three. jungkook tiptoed as he searched for them, but he failed. they gave up at the end and decided to go home.

3 hours before the clock stucks 12 when seokjin and taehyung got home. they found krystal and jimin seated in the living room, watching home alone. as they walked in, their glares pierced taehyung. if stares could kill, he would probably be buried seven times. they tried their best not to laugh.

taehyung went to the kitchen and saw jungkook assisting yoongi. he smiled upon looking at him from afar because he looked cute in that barbie-designed apron. he ran towards him and hugged him from behind, only to earn a snort from him.

"what," he bluntly said. taehyung smiled. the delicious smell of yoongi's dishes encircles the room, but he smells jungkook's jealousy more.

"that smells good," he whispered. "i'm hungry," he added. truthfully, he and seokjin really haven't eaten anything except breakfast before they left.

"ah, you must be tired from your trip," jungkook mouthed with a frown. his jawline's becoming sharp and his eyes are narrowing while staring at the innocent ingredients in the pot.

"yeah, it's tiring, but i enjoyed, though," he meaningfully said as he hugged him tighter. he's enjoying the show now, honestly.

"what did you do with seokjin hyung there?"

"just strolled around."

it's getting more exciting as jungkook rolled his tongue inside his cheek. he removed taehyung's arms on his waist and turned around to face him, but he didn't do it harshly. he was calm.

"really?" he asked as he narrowed his eyes on taehyung, who's now smiling while biting his lower lip.

goodness. jungkook and his jealous ass is all he could ask for. it was hot.

"really."

he's surprised to see him smile and turn his back. "okay, then," he started to hum while cooking, as if nothing happened. "hyung, have a taste," he even called yoongi who doesn't care about their mini-drama near the sink. he shoved taehyung away to taste jungkook's cooking and told him that it was good. the younger was proud, even though he just stirred it the whole time.

"me too," he tried to get in between them, but jungkook gave him a look.

"not you."

he pouted and decided to leave before yoongi even kicks him out. he went to the living room and sat beside krystal. he prepared himself enough for the glares, but he was surprised when she offered him some popcorn.

"uh, hello? it's me?" taehyung said.

"i can sense you with my eyes closed, dumb fuck. i can even differentiate your fart from others," she replied, not even blinking while staring intently on the screen.

"thought you're mad."

finally, krystal looked at him and pointed at something on his back. he looked at it, only to see the coat that seokjin used when he was posing as somebody else. so they already knew that he's with seokjin the whole time.

an hour before twelve, all the dishes that yoongi cooked are already on the rooftop. the sparkle fireworks are placed on the opposite sides. it's funny that a couple arguments happened before they decided to go with krystal's plan, because namjoon doesn't want to celebrate anyway.

"i don't really get why you didn't buy the normal fireworks and some firecrackers," krystal whined. hoseok eyed her, obviously pissed.

"they're dangerous."

"hah! is robbing a couple banks safe to you?"

they all didn't answer. still, krystal's tantrums didn't work. they told her to just watch the fireworks instead of lighting them herself.

jungkook doesn't talk. well, he's the most quiet of them all, but he's usually not this quiet. a single word haven't slipped out of his mouth since they started the countdown.

30 minutes.

taehyung walked near him, but he didn't give a single glance. he still thinks that jungkook's cute, so he laughs instead of worrying that he's still mad.

20 minutes.

none of them speaks, opposite to the six who's already blowing their horns. their side is all quiet, and the other is a mess. taehyung looks at him, but he keeps his straight face while scrolling through his phone.

10 minutes.

"still mad?" taehyung asks. jungkook looked at him for a split second, rolled his eyes and got back to his phone. "jeon jungkook," he calls. he replied with a hum, but still focused on his phone. "i swear i'm gonna smash that phone if you won't stop."

but he doesn't care. jungkook doesn't listen. he never does. so taehyung swiftly got his phone and raised it on top of his head. jungkook sighed.

5 minutes.

"give it back."

taehyung raised an eyebrow. he got his phone on his back pocket with his free hand, scrolled through his gallery and showed the photo to jungkook.

"it was seokjin hyung. we saw you at the store and told me to pull a little act for you to be jealous. we knew you were following us the whole time. we haven't eat because he can't keep his mask down so you wouldn't know it was him."

taehyung shut his mouth up when he noticed he's been talking too much. jungkook looked at the photo. it was taehyung with seokjin, the mask on his neck to fully capture his beautiful face, wearing the white coat.

1 minute.

he sighed and nodded. taehyung smiled widely and gave his phone back.

"come here now, dummies!" jimin shouts. they went to them and got their own sparkles.

30 seconds.

20...

15...

taehyung and jungkook stayed in front, holding each other's hands, the sparkles on the other hand. smiling all the way as the new year starts to come to them.

10 seconds.

they smiled. the clock starts ticking down faster.

5...

4...

"taehyung," jungkook whispered. he doubts if he could hear him, because the whole place is loud.

3...

2...

"i love you."

saying it for the second time still gives him chills. saying it directly to taehyung, his first love, makes him forget everything. he doesn't think of themselves as thieves, nor criminals. they're just normal humans who fall inlove, get hurt, but still live.

1.

"happy new year!" they screamed altogether.

the fireworks started to light up the sky. taehyung looked up with a smile on his face. this is his first time expressing his feelings in seeing those. everytime they celebrate new year, he keeps his straight face, as if he's unamused.

the other's gaze was focused on him too, admiring him more than the bright fireworks up there. they were all happy. because taehyung's happy. because jungkook joined them. because they found each other. because they were together.

that's when jungkook raised his camera and captured him, the blinding colors of the sky reflecting through his eyes. he's still unaware because of amazement. the second shot is candid. all of them weren't aware, except jungkook who took the selfie himself. they screamed in disgust telling jungkook to repeat it, but he doesn't want to. it was a beautiful and sincere moment. he doesn't want them to fake a smile for the camera.

when the fireworks ended, they all gathered around the long table, all loud, like the usual.

"jungkook," taehyung called beside him.

"yeah?" he asked while still scooping a large amount of his favorite carbonara.

"i love you too."

he stopped, wide-eyed, he looked back to him. taehyung just smiles. despite the loud noises coming everywhere, he still heard him. maybe the words are powerful enough.

"uh, i'm feeling sick," jimin said, that made the others laugh hard. seokjin threw a piece of grape to taehyung. their moment's too cheesy for them to handle.

"can't believe i'm seeing a high school romance in front of me," namjoon commented. 

just like that, they spent the rest of the nights, bickering and throwing shades to each other. it was indeed, a new year, well spent.

┈┈┈┈․° ☣︎ °․┈┈┈┈

jungkook's strolling around on his own in the neighborhood. the others are drunk and still asleep. he doesn't want to take care of seven drunkards so he decided to escape early.

"dear," he stopped and looked to his left when he heard a voice of an old woman, calling him.

"yes, ma'am? need help?" he asked politely.

"ah, you're one of the guys who live in that large house, aren't you?" he went near her and nodded. "do you know the guys who tried sneaking in your front door earlier?"

his eyes widened. all their doors were closed and they're all together the whole night.

"no, the eight of us were celebrating 'til dawn."

the old woman seemed shock. "they were taking advantage of the noise last night and forcing your doors to open. i thought they were just knocking."

"n-no. thanks for informing me, ma'am."

she smiled and tapped his arms. "take care, boy."

he immediately went back to their house to wake everyone up. they have to know this. what if they were caught?

he woke them up, heads still throbbing in pain, all glaring at him for disturbing their sleep. but when he told them the reason, they became serious. joon booked a flight for them to london. they will leave as early as possible to avoid any complications that might expose them.

their flight was scheduled tomorrow, but they started packing their things. they have to stay somewhere else since their location was already dangerous for them. they were grouped into four to drive the two SUVs. 

seokjin and jungkook drove, all of them wears an earpiece to communicate incase a sudden attack happens. namjoon planned all this in a short span of time. he's indeed, the brain of the group.

everything happens so fast. joon had foreseen the situation. in just a snap, they're already driving faster than a speed of light. a rain of bullets made their cars move in an uncertain way. krystal got her gun and fired towards the enemies' direction, and it was the cue for them to attack.

"the tires!" yoongi screamed from the other line. it echoed in jungkook's mind a few times because it's too loud, but it didn't keep him out of focus.

krystal aimed for the tires while taehyung and jimin covered her up by aiming on whoever tries to shoot them.

"fuck!" krystal shouts.

"what the fuck happened?!" hoseok yells from the other car.

the three of them withdraws, the two guys checked on krystal. "she was shot, hyung! on her left shoulder!" they heard hoseok growled from the other line. they couldn't see him, but he's surely mad at them for putting krystal on danger. they must admit, he's the scariest when mad.

krystal started crying after seeing blood on her clothes. sounds ironic, but krystal's afraid of blood more than anything else. she started panicking as hoseok's grunts became louder and louder everytime he hears krystal's sobs.

"look away, krystal! don't close your eyes!" he shouts, but she couldn't comprehend. they started losing hope, because she's the team's sniper. she's the only one who can catch up with fast moving objects.

"tae, can you drive?" jungkook asked. taehyung stopped shooting behind them.

"what the fuck are you thinking?"

"hold the steering wheel for me. i can shoot their tires. krystal taught me, remember?"

there's a sense of urgency in his voice, so taehyung obliges. they switched positions and jungkook had half of his body to shoot the cars behind them. his hands works fast. jimin looked at him, surprised, like he saw the male version of krystal. the older ones in the other car seemed surprised too, but they tried their best to cover him. thanks to their teamwork, they wiped out most of them. the others backed out, only three remaining cars are persistent to catch them.

"you can take care of the rest, hyung," he said to yoongi through the earpiece and got back to the passenger's seat, earning looks from the three whom he left in awe. he just shrugged his shoulders.

after the encounter, they successfully landed in london. it took a week before krystal was fully recovered and started their next work.

8 months approached really fast, they visited most asian countries, successfully travelled while making money. there were times that things don't go well with all their plans, but their teamwork's too good, they overcome all of those.

"i want to go back to new zealand," taehyung opens up one time.

"me too," krystal said.

"same," jimin added.

"yeah. i don't wanna rob such a beautiful place like that. it feels like living inside a painting. i almost became a poet to describe how aesthetically pleasing that place is."

namjoon chuckled, started tapping his pen lightly on his temple, then he nods.

"alright. let's take a two-month vacation there, then back to business. fine?"

they all jumped in joy, started packing, again, for the third time this month, even when their flight wasn't booked yet.

"jungkookie! get up! we're heading to new zealand!"

jungkook groans, stretching from the sofa, nodded, and then gets back to sleep again. they're all wondering why he was tired. they didn't even do anything all day. so taehyung insisted to pack his things with the help of the others.

they were all excited the next day, except of course, jungkook, who's been groggy since yesterday. he refused to join the rest of them. he doesn't even know why he seemed tired, he just wanted to sleep.

"gguk, do you want something to eat?" they're already on the plane, and taehyung's been taking care of him. he shook his head and closed his eyes again. "tell me if you need something."

"i need a kiss," he said. taehyung chuckled, but still leaned in to give him a peck on his lips. it was quick, but enough to make hin smile for the first time today.

as far as he knows, jungkook doesn't have a problem with motion sickness. he's hesitant to ask him if he needs a doctor. maybe he's just overthinking it, so he dismissed the thought and just cuddled him the whole ride.

everything went fine when they landed on new zealand. he's lively again, and it gave taehyung a relief.

it was a fine day, but it seems like winter found its way to them, even if it's still august. jungkook refused to join them out to have a picnic. taehyung was supposed to stay with him, but he told him to just go and have fun. he just needed some rest.

"oh, shoot. the blanket. i forgot to put it in," seokjin said. good thing their van's still around their house so he got off to get it in the kitchen.

he's not expecting to see jungkook in the kitchen, looking so frustrated from the back. he couldn't see seokjin entering the house because he's busy talking to someone over the phone.

seokjin's suspicious. namjoon made it clear that no phone calls are allowed, unless it's between the eight of them. they are avoiding interaction from anyone. but when did jungkook started having calls with someone else?

"yeah? i don't need that. i'm living comfortably here," he heard jungkook. he wonders since when did he let out a tone like that? "i won't leave-- the fuck i care. he deserves that."

jungkook punches the counter and seokjin flinched. he was really angry.

what's bothering him since the other day are the phone calls that he receive from his neighbors in busan, telling him that his father really needs assistance. he's barely living and jungkook's the only family he got. they're all wondering why he disappeared out of nowhere. he almost puked when they said that his father's been worrying and finding him in every corners of busan.

he shouldn't care about him. all he did was abuse him since his mother left, but he can't help but worry.

"kookie," his elderly neighbor said. "you know it's not his fault, right? your mom killed herself because of guilt, because she's cheating on your dad."

"and? he put all the blame on me? was that even logical?"

seokjin got the memo that he was frustrated because of his father. he doesn't want to interrupt. he wanted to listen. but his mind went blank when he heard what jungkook said.

"alright. i'm going back."

"what the fuck, jeon jungkook," he spoke. he looked at him with wide eyes as he turned off his phone.

he's disappointed. he was there when jungkook told them about how his father made his life a living hell. how he punished him with the sin that wasn't really his fault. but now that his father's suffering, not even bigger compared to what jungkook received from him, he's going back to take care of him? that was even more illogical than his mother's choice.

"hyung, i---"

"even if you explain, that still sounds nonsense. why the fuck would you go back?"

"because he's my father and he needs me, hyung," he reasoned out.

"fuck it! did he ever consider you as his son?!"

"he did! before my mom came up with a selfish decision! it was my mom's fault!"

"and it was his choice to do those shits to you! your dad's an asshole!"

"yes, he is! and i'm coming back because i don't want to be like him! and i don't want to watch him die just like what happened to mom!"

"you won't watch him! you don't have to pay attention to that bastard, jeon jungkook!"

"hyung, he's the only family i got..."

"what about us? aren't we your family?"

silence.

they are both focused on their fight that they didn't notice taehyung and krystal opening the front door, both shocked to see their situation.

"we are your family. don't go back to the bastard who broke you, jungkook," seokjin whispered, voice breaking, trying to stop tears forming in his eyes.

"you don't understand, hyung."

"what part of it did i not understand?! jungkook, he deserve what he got!"

"you don't understand because you don't have your parents anymore!"

it pierced seokjin and taehyung. krystal was frozen in her place. even jungkook was shocked that it came out of his mouth. he didn't mean it. he was just overwhelmed. he wanted to explain, but he was cut off by the gun, being withdrawed by seokjin from his side pocket, and pointed it at him.

he doesn't want to do it, but he also got his own and pointed it at seokjin.

taehyung couldn't comprehend. he felt like he was eleven again, watching his parents pointing their guns on each other, all because of a misunderstanding. it was a heartbreaking scene for him, seeing his brother and his lover, doing the same thing his parents did.

"don't..." he plead, almost a whisper. "please, put down your guns," he says, almost breaking down.

until an explotion was heard outside their house. the other four was still inside the van, trying to determine the sources of the bullets.

jungkook and seokjin immediately moved, together with taehyung and krystal to help them. they thought they were already safe because they hadn't come for them for the last 8 months. it was a surprise attack.

"let's go out!" krystal says.

the three of them got out, not noticing jungkook climbing up the stairs, getting his luggages.

he doesn't want to do it, but it's the only time for him to escape without getting noticed. he used the backdoor and fires at anyone who hinders. as soon as he walked away from the battle scene, he looked back, seeing the seven of them fighting. he felt bad for abandoning the family that accepted him.

he ran away, trying not to be guilty. because just like what he said back then, he was the villain in every comic book you read. he left them. just like what bad guys do in the movies.

meanwhile, the seven of them tried their best to overpower them. the other enemies had already ran away, leaving just enough number of people to eliminate.

they finished dealing with them in no time. they checked up on each other, namjoon did a head count, like he always does everytime they work.

but something's wrong. they were supposed to be eight, but he only counts seven of them.

"where's jungkook?" he asked.

seokjin, taehyung and krystal's eyes widened. they were the only one who witnessed the scene earlier. taehyung came inside the house while seokjin tells them what happened between them earlier.

he came inside jungkook's room. his bed neat and straightened out. his closet empty. his luggage nowhere to be found.

jungkook was gone.

he came back, fighting tears that are about to come out. jungkook will never left him without words. he will not do that to them. because they are a family. and a family never leaves each other.

"hyung, he's not there," he's already panicking when he delivered the news to them.

"let's find him. he must still be around," krystal said.

their two months stay in new zealand became a search for jungkook all around. they all flew to korea, specifically in busan, after a week. namjoon led them to a messy house, only to receive a news from their neighbor that jungkook and his father flew abroad. right after that, a news came that there was a plane crash from they don't know where the fuck came from. but jungkook's neighbor assured them that it wasn't there plane, becsuse they already left the other day.

so taehyung believed. because it's the only thing he can hold on to. that jungkook's still safe from his father. that his father didn't do anything to harm him. that he came up with a good decision that will make him happy.

they searched for him, in some countries in asia, europe and north america. they were hoping that they will bump on to him one day, and he will come back to them. because they were incomplete.

taehyung didn't lose hope. they came back to italy, madrid, new york, brazil, new zealand, russia, london, and went to every place where he and jungkook spent time together. remembering the times when they first looked at each other's eyes, when they first exchanged i love yous, when they first kissed, when they first held hands.

he remembered the time when jungkook's amazed with the galaxy above them. taehyung looked at it too, visualizing jungkook's eyes, hoping that they were looking at the same sky.

they didn't do any heists for a year to find jungkook. they traced all the info they had, but it led them to nothing. they lit a cake for jungkook's birthday, but it was left untouched. no one dared to eat, no celebration. it was a depressing year for the seven of them.

jungkook didn't leave any clues. not even a bit. he successfully hid himself. the others tried not to think that he's gone. for real. knowing how wicked his father is.

he left taehyung in a black hole, questioning the whole universe. he had lost his love, found it, then eventually lost it again. he even thought that his history with his parents was repeated, or maybe it just rhymes. because he was always being left alone.

but he believed that jungkook's still there, also finding them. so he bought another phone to text jungkook's number to tell him what they're doing and where they are.

guk, we came back to new zealand to stargaze. it was beautiful. i saw your star.

guk, we flew to madrid. remember that winter when you held my hand because you were cold? please do that again.

guk, we came back to italy to celebrate your birthday remember that time on the rooftop? wish you were here.

guk, we're in new york. merry christmas!

he's highly hoping that jungkook could read that, because the messages were sent successfully. he wonders if jungkook cries too whenever he thinks about him, or does jungkook even think about him?

what a tragedy, losing someone you loved the most and never finding him again. if he hadn't love him dearly, he probably gave up months ago. but jungkook's always worth the wait, anyway.

he was thinking if jungkook's traveling by himself, or with his dad while trying to catch up with each other. does jungkook still want to rule the world like what he told him? did he capture a scenery more beautiful than him? does he still watch docu-films? did he get to celebrate his birthday with his dad?

all his questions were left unanswered. he had high hopes that jungkook will answer all of those when he comes back.

he sighed while looking at the sunset. he's at the same place where they watched the stars. it was jungkook's favorite place in new zealand. he stood up, preparing to leave. he looked up as he thinks that they're both looking at the same sky. because it's the only way for them to be connected.

he closed his eyes as he prays that when he turn his back, jungkook's already there. smiling, open arms, waiting for his hug.

he turned his back.

but no jungkook was there.

he's still not there.


	2. still with you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> he disappeared from the group without any notice to take care of his sick father who made his life a living hell.
> 
> he wanted to go back. he wanted to stay in taehyung's sky as a star.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is written in jungkook's side when he disappeared for a year, the same time when the others were looking for him, just to be clear.

that winter in august when they flew to new zealand is still vivid in jungkook's mind. the first time seokjin and him got into a fight, pointed guns at each other, and left the family he wanted to spend his lifetime with. all those, for his father who made his life a living hell. 

when he came back to busan, he's ready if ever his dad does something to him. but when he got home, what his neighbor told him was much worse than he expected.

their house was a mess. broken pieces of plates and mirrors are scattered on the floor. unfinished soju bottles are on the wooden table, and his dad lies on their dirty couch. cold and trembling, mouthing his wife's name repeatedly.

"get up," he said in a stern voice. his father slowly looked up, eyes swollen, lips slowly forming a subtle smile.

"you're here..."

he sighed. he got his phone and called an ambulance. he can't do anything but rely on a doctor for now.

he knows that his father's barely living since his mother left, but hearing him suffer from multiple diseases still left him in shock. his organs are failing, and even if the doctor couldn't say it, he knows that he doesn't have much time left.

he didn't use his phone since his dad got discharged from the hospital to take care of him. he knows that he didn't even act as his father, but he, himself, didn't act as a son either. so he did his duty as one, atleast for a short period of time. he chose to forget what he did to him and just focus on how he changed since his son came back.

he's smart enough to foresee that taehyung and the others will visit their house, so he paid his neighbor an amount to tell them that they flew to another country for his dad's recovery.

everyday, he didn't fail to say sorry to jungkook. the latter already said that he didn't need it, but he insists. they lived in their old house in daegu, together with jungkook's grandparents. they're still strong and helps jungkook take care of their son. they sometimes wonder where he got all his money that can probably be used to buy them a mansion, but they never asked.

jungkook brings him in his wheelchair in the nearby beach every weekend, because they always watch the sunset back when they're still complete. no one knows, but jungkook's one of a sentimental person. he might hate his parents, but his happy memories with them never disappeared, even if those had happened more than a decade ago.

and if you wonder if he thinks about taehyung...

as long as he lives, he will never not think about him.

he always wanted to go back. say sorry for what he said and did, but that ain't easy. it will never be. he's missing the thrill and excitement of doing their job. breaking into vaults and stuffing lots of money in their duffel bags, play hide and seek with the police and traveling to different countries every month.

those nostalgic memories of them hunts him every night. taehyung still visits him in his dreams. it was sad, but fulfilling that he didn't even want to wake up. 

he misses how taehyung calls his name. he misses those late night talks when they cried and laugh together. he misses even the simplest thing they do.

he missed the time in new zealand when he pointed at his star, with taehyung beside him. he always looks at the stars at night to recollect that memory, because the stars remind him of taehyung. he is his star.

he's been missing taehyung's eyes. those deep and dark eyes. taehyung might not be the kind of person that says sweet words a lot, but truth to be told, he doesn't need them. his eyes tell. a lot. maybe that was the reason why he doesn't speak that much and didn't look at people's eyes for years. because they might see him through those eyes. just look at those, and you will know how he feels and what he thinks. his eyes are that powerful.

he looks forward to the time when he can go back to taehyung and stare at his eyes again. even if he worries if he will still accept him. however, he still wanted to see him. he wanted to walk the path towards the future with taehyung. they might not be together, but he's always and will still be with him.

what reminds him of taehyung is the camera that he gave in new york, where their memories are stored. since he left, he couldn't capture anything anymore. everytime he tries to, everything's monochrome. his world has been dark without taehyung.

jungkook still recalls their moment in russia by staring at the candid pictures he took. his grandma once caught him staring at his camera for minutes.

"that must be your friends?" he nodded at her question as he swiped it to the next one. it was taehyung, looking at the sky with the fireworks' reflection in his eyes. "and that must be?"

he couldn't answer. taehyung is his what? the guy he loves that he left for his dad? the guy he hurt twice? what are they?

"i came back to your house and mrs. kwon told me that you suffered too much there." anger stirs up inside him as he remembered those times. the sound of things breaking into the wall and the wounds and bruises he got. "why did you come back for him?"

but he immediately softened as he hear those. he, too, doesn't know. or maybe he couldn't just accept that no matter how he sees himself as a bad guy, he still has a soft spot for the ones he love. maybe that was just him. maybe the things he did wrong doesn't really describe him as a person.

"because he needs me," he whispers.

she smiles as she pat his head. "do you want to go back to them?"

he lost his words. all of a sudden, his head drew conclusions on what would happen if he comes back to them a year after he turned his back without saying anything. will they be mad?

"what about dad?"

she gave him a warm smile. "you two already made up. it's now your time to make up to them. you've suffered enough, kookie. get back to them." he smiled and hugged her. "aigoo, my baby's really big now," she laughed.

he doesn't know where to start. he went to the beach alone. the aesthetic mix of sunset fades as the dark blue skies colored the night, the moon peeking behind the thick clouds. but he stood still and hasn't moved a bit from his position.

he doesn't know where to start. no one knows where the fuck in the world are they. he must be a dumbass for leaving his house immediately without thinking where to go.

so he just wait for a fortune that someone will walk behind him and say where kim taehyung is. his mind's a mess. so if you hear a news about a man who can't be moved on a beach in daegu, that's jeon jungkook.

he took out his phone that he hadn't touched for a year. he's actually shocked that it still works after being abandoned by its owner in a closet.

and what shocked him more are tons of messages from an unknown number. he scrolls through those messages that tells him where they are and what are they doing in that country. it never failed to text him every day.

so he didn't forget about me, huh. jungkook thinks, smiling while reading them.

but the last message was sent a month ago. then it stopped.

his heart skipped a beat.

why?

he tried to type a reply, but the number was unavailable. he couldn't send a message anymore.

he sighed and turned off his phone again and slid it in his pocket. he looked up again, talked to the sky and stared at his star. he named it taehyung.

after he stared at it without blinking, he closed his eyes and wished that he'll find taehyung. that when he opened his eyes, he's already beside him, together with the six of them, facing a large map and planning to rob another bank.

because that's what happens in the movies, right?

the protagonist always finds his love at the end, no matter what it takes. so he'll hold on to that.

he opened his eyes.

the huge waves welcomed him. he looked to his left, and then to his right.

he blinked a lot of times again to wake himself up, if ever he's dreaming again, or somebody's filming him for a movie or a commercial, or maybe it's just in his head.

but it's not.

he sees a silhouette, not too far away from him. the hair's kinda long and curly, far from the straight one he saw a year ago. the body built is bigger, but he can't be wrong.

it's kim taehyung. his kim taehyung.

that's when he realized that he's in daegu, and seokjin mentioned that it was their hometown. his hopes are high. it might be him-- no-- it's surely him.

maybe he's staring at him for a long time, that he felt his eyes. he turned his head to his direction, tilted it.

jungkook was hopeful. he must recognize him.

he was about to take a step towards him, but he sinks down when taehyung turned his back and walked away. like he didn't see him at all. like he didn't know him. like he was nothing.

then jungkook finally realized how taehyung felt when he left without any notice.

so this is how much it hurts, huh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> karma is kim taehyung. period.


	3. serendipity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> krystal met taehyung and jimin by accident, which led them into joining their team.
> 
> she fell twice. will she be able to overcome if it became thrice?

"fuck off."

krystal took a lot of time to not give a shit to everything around her during her middle school. the rumors, the bullying, and even the shades her schoolmates throw at her. she gambled her education, held back a few times, before she finally decided to take education seriously.

but today seems to be the most annoying for her. she avoids catfights as much as she can, because she promised hoseok that she will graduate. one more offense and she will get kicked out of school-- again-- and her brother wouldn't like that.

"come on! heard you're living with three handsome guys. how was it?"

the news that she lives with two of her friends, namjoon and yoongi, with her brother immediately spread like a wildfire in their school after luna followed her home one time. it was damn annoying. and now one of luna's friends came to her, thinking that she's doing something else with them.

"it's basically the same as living with a family, victoria. i don't know what you're talking about."

she raised an eyebrow as she smirks. "you must be having fun with your family."

hearing how she emphasized the last word reached krystal's nerves. she grabbed her by the wrist and stared at her closely. she took advantage of the crowded dance floor as she worked with her hands on victoria's wrist.

1.

2.

3.

in just three seconds, she was able to unhook victoria's bracelet and slid her ring out of her finger without anyone noticing.

"i said fuck off."

then she left, holding the expensive jewelries she stole without blinking. she smirked, went to the bathroom to vomit. as much as she wanted to puke on victoria, she can't.

she went inside the cubicle and flushed her 'thing'. she got a tissue to wipe the sides of her lips. she's about to get out to gargle on the sink when she heard someone kicked the door of the cubicle next to her, then the woman inside it screamed.

her cubicle door was open, and it gave a signal to the random guy to go inside and pull her together with him. the space is too tight for them, she couldn't kick his ass for his act of voyeurism.

"shh," he used his index finger to cover his own lips while brushing his fingers on his hair. he's in panic. someone must be chasing him.

"what--" she was cut off by the guy as he removed his coat. he even lowered krystal's blazer over her elbow, even her dress straps.

"you can punch me later," the guy said with his deep voice.

she couldn't think completely because she was mesmerized. if there's something like love at first hear, maybe that's her situation right now. his voice is crazy.

the girls on the other cubicles started screaming again after all the doors were kicked. they're in the last cubicle.

"kim taehyung! come out or you're dead!" the guy outside said.

the guy leaned closer, someone peeked above their door, then their lips touched. she couldn't even keep her eyes close because of shock. she doesn't know if it's because of the alcohol or this guy's kiss just makes her crazily drunk. his tongue even roamed around her mouth as if it was searching for something. it makes her worry because she just puked and she haven't gargled yet. he must be disgusted.

when they noticed that it's already quiet outside, he pulled away and sighed heavily. he opened the cubicle door before any other girls notice him, then he went out.

krystal gargled first before she hurried outside and search for the guy. she tiptoed to thoroughly search the whole area.

"fuck--"

she looked back as she rubbed her nape. someone just threw an apple to her. not too far away, she saw a group of guys looking at her-- all shocked, because their friend just threw the apple at the wrong person.

"sorry! are you hurt--"

krystal's patience blew up. starting from her frustrations on luna, victoria, the random guy who kissed her, and now-- this stupid guy who threw an apple to her. his voice is kinda familiar, but she just shrugged it off.

she punched him.

"aww! what the heck! i said i'm sorry!"

"oh, i'm sorry too. my fist slipped."

she turned her back again-- to go home. she'd had enough. if she stays here for a little, she might vent out her frustration to anyone who crosses paths with her.

"hey!"

talk about persistency. this apple guy followed her until she reached the parking lot. so she turned back so she could finally get rid of him before hoseok comes to fetch her.

"what now? if you'll say sorry, okay. forgiven. stop following me."

"no. i'm just gonna ask where you got these. they're nice."

her jaw dropped when the guy showed her the ring and bracelet she stole from victoria a while ago. she was wearing those. she didn't even felt this guy touched her, but he got those from her without her noticing? unbelievable.

she couldn't say a word, until she noticed a familiar person walking behind the guy's back.

the one who kissed her earlier. she recalled his name according to what she heard earlier.

"kim taehyung?" she mouthed, thinking if she got it right.

"kim taehyung? you know him? where's that asshole?"

"uh, he's--"

"kim taehyung, you dumbass!" the guy suddenly shouted and run towards krystal. she didn't know that he's behind her already. he guy he called taehyung was caught off-guard.

"what the f--"

she doesn't really get what's happening, so she just watch the two guys on the ground, fighting like street dogs.

"give back the money you stole!" the apple guy shouts. then his voice sinked in krystal. it was the same guy who was looking for kim taehyung when they were inside the cubicle.

"i didn't steal anything, park jimin!"

"yah, park jimin!" krystal shouts in between them. "you stole my jewelry too!"

"i didn't! you just stole it too!"

"how did you know?!"

they didn't know they were already shouting at each other's faces until hoseok spoke. he was watching the three of them a bit long, and none of them noticed his presence.

"this is the first time i'm seeing thieves blaming each other. it's ironic," he said with a laugh.

taehyung and jimin stood up, still eyeing each other. krystal's patience is about to pop again, because she doesn't have a fucking idea what to do now. she just wanted her jewelries back.

but nevermind. she just went inside her brother's car. they're silent at first, until hoseok finally get to ask about earlier.

"so you know taehyung," he said.

"not really. it's just an accident. jimin just threw an apple to me accidentally and taehyung--" will she say the truth? but what if he gets angry? "i-- bumped into him, i didn't know that those two had an issue."

"ah, good thing you already know taehyung. he's gonna join us soon."

her eyes widened. "he will?!"

"yeah. you know seokjin, right? he's taehyung's brother. we'll be six in our house soon."

no one knows how happy she is right now. was it fate that held them together? because if taehyung didn't open her cubicle, they wouldn't meet and kissed. ah, her frustrations suddenly vanished after knowing that she and taehyung will be living in the same roof soon.

"that park jimin, do you know him?" she asked.

"no. i just met him. why?"

"he just stole the jewelries i stole. i didn't even remember him touching me."

hoseok smiled. and they both know why. it means that park jimin's remarkable, and even if krystal hates him, she admits that he can be of help when they do their job.

it took krystal a week to know that she's actually in the same school and grade as taehyung. she's been following him to atleast be friends, opening up senseless topics, just to spend time with him. she's usually not this kind of person, but she sees him in a different way that she's willing to be like that. 

everyday is a rejection for her, and of course, the bullying arises after her schoolmates knew that she's into him.

taehyung had seen them bullying krystal, trapping her inside the comfort room for the whole day, and doing shitty things to her, but he never interfered, not even saying a word to make them stop. krystal understands, anyway, they're not that close.

"help!" she shouts. she's now inside the stock room with spiders and dusts. damn those girls. she just wanted to graduate! is this even part of learning?

she was hopeful when she heard the padlock outside. this hallway's almost abandoned and most students are scared to walk here. even the guard doesn't roam around this building. it's a miracle that someone's opening the door. finally.

"thank goodness-- eh?" her brows furrowed when she saw who opened it. "park jimin?"

"you're welcome, krystal jung," he said, smiling all the way. she wonders if he can see, because he's always smiling.

"why are you here?"

"what do you mean? i study here. it's part of the school premises, it happened that i passed through this hallway and heard you shouting."

"you study here?!"

jimin just raised an eyebrow. he, too, was actually shocked to know that krystal's studying here. he thought they will never meet again after the apple incident.

just then, krystal turned her back without giving the chance for him to speak. she's damn hungry, maybe she'll just run to the convenience store for now.

"the fuck are you following me?" she growls.

"hah! i'm on my way to the convenience store!"

she just let jimin walk behind her. when she entered the convenience store, a sight of kim taehyung, slurping his instant noodles, welcomed her. she smiled, all of a sudden, her hunger disappeared.

she sat in front of him, smiling widely. taehyung acted like he doesn't see her at all. he didn't even looked at her. well, one thing that krystal noticed when following him is he never looks at other people. even when he's talking or walking, he always keeps his head down with his dark eyes.

except that night when taehyung entered her cubicle. he looked at her eyes before he kissed her. that was memorable.

"can i sit here?" jimin said, but before he could finish asking, he's already sitting beside krystal.

"no," taehyung answers anyway. but jimin doesn't comply. he just eats his instant noodles silently.

krystal stands up and gets her own food and sat back with the two. none of them spoke, until taehyung finally finished eating.

"finish your food," he said. as usual, with his deep voice. though krystal's not looking at him, she can feel him staring. she wonders if her heart will be alright if she meets his gaze, because just the feeling of kim taehyung staring at her with his deep eyes makes her skin shiver.

"why?"

krystal decided to look up, but unfortunately, he wasn't looking at her anymore. his eyes are now focused outside.

"i'll drive you home." she dropped her chopsticks. literally. did she just hear it right? "hoseok hyung asked me to do it."

"can you drive me home too?" jimin interfered. krystal almost forgets that he's here.

"no."

"thank you, i'll get in the car."

taehyung just sighed. they first dropped jimin, and when they got in front of their house, he threw a piece of something to krystal.

a bandaid.

"put that on your wrist."

then taehyung got off and went first inside their house, as if it's his. she followed shortly after covering her wound with a bandaid. she wonders how taehyung saw that. her uniform's sleeves are long enough to cover that wound.

"hey, krystal," she noticed seokjin first, sitting on the couch. she met him once and he was nice. beside him is taehyung who's busy scrolling his phone, as usual. "we're living here!"

her eyes widened in surprise and excitement. so that means she and taehyung will be sticking together, he will drive her home everyday, they will eat dinner at the same table? they'll be living under the same roof!

since that time, krystal always asks taehyung for a ride. at first, taehyung always rejects her. until his rejection becomes an invite to krystal to give her a ride, then it became their habit to go to school and go home together. taehyung rarely speaks when they're together, but knowing that he's getting used to her presence is enough for her.

there are times that taehyung does questionable things. like he'll look at her all of a sudden, but doesn't speak at all. when he speaks, he just asks if krystal encountered the bullies again. when he sees krystal with wounds, he always pulls a bandaid from his pocket, like he always has that.

it gives krystal hopes that maybe, a little bit, there's a chance that taehyung likes her too. because he acts like that in front of her. when he's with others, he doesn't seem to care at all.

it was a peaceful day for krystal that day. no bullies, no body ache, no wounds. he spots taehyung leaning on his car, waiting for her. she wonders why isn't he waiting inside.

"flat tires," he said.

"you shouldn't have waited for me, then."

"i want to walk with you."

her heart forgot to beat its own rhythm for seconds. they started walking together. she doesn't really mind walking for almost an hour, as long as she's with taehyung. that's what matters.

"why do you always let them do that to you?" taehyung suddenly asked. she was lost for a moment, but she immediately realized what he was talking about.

"i can't fight back. one more offense and i won't graduate. hoseok will be mad."

silence fell between them. she looked down at her feet when she felt taehyung's eyes on her again. everytime he does that, she feels special. if she's not wrong, she's the only one he looks at-- directly, at least.

"why do you worry so much about graduating? we're gonna be millionaires soon."

"it's for hoseok. money does matter, but his happiness matters more."

"that's sweet."

she laughed a little. their conversation stopped there, until they reached their house. that's a new record for their longest conversation.

┈┈┈┈․° ☣︎ °․┈┈┈┈

"no stealing, please," namjoon reminded them before they left the house to shop for groceries. 

they just robbed a bank last night. thankfully, their names and faces weren't revealed when they watched the news. they will spend some of the money for their needs.

they assigned tasks to save time so they could go home immediately. yoongi and seokjin for the ingredients, namjoon and hoseok for the needed supplies, and krystal and taehyung for the snacks.

"strawberries?" taehyung asked. krystal shook her head. she doesn't really like strawberries, but she thought about the others and asked him back if he liked them. "not really. let's not buy that. how about apples?"

krystal suddenly remembered jimin. she hasn't seen that guy since that time in the convenience store. and maybe that's a good thing? she suddenly wonders why do they always have to meet by accident. if bad luck's a person, that would probably be him.

her eyes roamed around the fruit section, and she saw a guy with a hooded jacket. her eyes was just as fast as his movement. she followed how the guy stored apples and some fruits in his bag, then got two pieces of mangoes and placed it in his cart.

"what the hell," she mouthed.

taehyung looked at her. his expression didn't change, but he was like asking what happened. well, one thing to be proud of is probably taehyung looking at her is just like a normal thing he always does.

"let's follow that guy," she said. she wanted to see his face.

he didn't ask and just pushed the cart. he's now on the chips section. they maintained a proper distance to not look like they're following him.

"why are we following park jimin?" taehyung asked. his deep voice became loud, that the hooded guy heard it. he looked at their direction.

positive. it's jimin.

krystal was so shocked that she didn't feel him walking towards them with a big smile on his face.

"krystal jung was following me? wow, that's a news."

"in your dreams, park jimin," she replied. "and how did you know that it was him?" she asked taehyung.

"because he was small?"

"hey!" jimin said, offended. he was short, but not that short. maybe just a little, but can still be considered short. he just can't accept it.

krystal pulled taehyung away to pick snacks and left jimin there. they paid for the items after, while namjoon's still complaining why do they have to buy a lot. they can't almost fit some of those in their car. yoongi argues and kept saying that too much is better than not enough. but the other one can't seem to see the point in that.

"jesus, you again?" krystal squeals. the others look at her, then saw jimin holding paper bags.

"oh, jimin, right?" hoseok asked. he smiled and bowed.

krystal knew that hoseok has been rooting for jimin since that day. he wanted him to join them. krystal's not that good with it because their first meeting was a mess, and she sees jimin as a little cocky.

"we met again, krystal. is this fate?"

she gave a disgusted face as a reply and she was the first to get inside the car. taehyung came shortly after and sat beside her, while the others are still talking to jimin outside.

"what's taking them long?" she asked.

"they're forcing jimin to join us," taehyung said. his eyes are focused on his fidget spinner that he bought last week.

"what?!"

her voice was louder than she expected. it was dramatic, taehyung flinched and rolled his eyes. he didn't have time to answer when jimin opened the door behind krystal and sat beside her.

"so, i'm gonna repeat my story for the two of you since you didn't hear it," jimin said.

"not interested," krystal said.

"go on," but taehyung interrupted. she groaned, but listened to jimin anyway.

he came from busan. he doesn't have his relatives anymore. his uncle was his last guardian that died a few years ago. since then, he lived all by himself. at first, he had his part time job, but it was hard for him to cope up so he did a shortcut instead. he started robbing while earning money, almost the same as a low-budget con artist. well, he has the face of an angel so it's not that difficult for him to fool other people. not just that, his hands work really fast. he even showed off a skill. he took krystal's bracelet-- again-- without her noticing. she didn't even feel his touch. she admits, he's really good.

┈┈┈┈․° ☣︎ °․┈┈┈┈

krystal kept telling herself that one month is short enough for her. finally, she will graduate. no more bullies. she will just focus on her upcoming graduation.

and today is the day. she successfully wasted more than a decade of her life in school. hoseok, namjoon, seokjin and yoongi came for her, taehyung and jimin. technically, she was older than them, but since she was held back, they ended up graduating in the same year.

"look here!" hoseok yells from above. she's too embarassed to look up because they're too loud. he's even holding a camera, a banner and a bouquet of flowers for her. it became a reason for the other students and visitors to look at them, not to mention that they're also good looking.

but she still looked above and waved to them. they promised to treat them to the restaurant they went back then. deep inside, she was happy. she really didn't want to study because the school system and her schoolmates are bullshit. but she overcame all that for her brother.

it's also that day when her cousin, amber, invited them for her graduation party. hoseok couldn't come, so she has to have someone to accompany her.

"taehyung," she called.

"no," he immediately answered, though krystal haven't asked a favor yet. she frowned. 

since he joined them, the two of them became closer. although krystal always annoys taehyung, she's the one he trusts the most. he tells her stories the he didn't want the others to know. like his human diary or something similar.

"you can ask jimin. i'm resting."

"i don't like jimin," she said.

"i don't like you too, anyways."

they both looked at the corner where jimin sits, biting his apple, knees curled on his chest while scrolling his phone. looks like they both didn't know that he was there all the time or he just got inside the room without them noticing.

in the end, krystal goes alone in her cousin's party. they're not really in good terms. this cousin just wanted a lot of people to invite to look like she has a big circle of friends.

krystal always liked partying, so she goes. she's just here for the drinks, anyway. she can just wear her poker face all the time so no one can come and hook up with her. she has to be loyal for taehyung.

she didn't even greet amber when she got inside the venue. she already ate and drank a lot in an hour. this is why she wants taehyung to join her-- to have someone who can refrain her from having too much, because she can't control herself.

"amber! congratulations!"

"jimin! good thing you came!"

her eyes are half open when she looked at amber's direction. is it just her or she really heard park jimin's name?

"yeah, with krystal."

"she's here?"

jimin furrowed his brows as he looked around to search for her. eventually, he saw her sipping another drink not too far from them.

"ye-ah, and we're gonna go home."

amber didn't had the chance to bid goodbye because jimin immediately ran towards krystal. he puts a hand on her shoulder as he grabs her drink, supporting her weight as they walk towards the car.

"i thought you didn't want to come?" krystal asked.

"i didn't know that you'll be coming to amber's so i declined. seatbelt, please."

their house was quiet when they got home. she wanted to sleep, but her mind doesn't cooperate. she's thinking about a lot of things.

the door opened and taehyung showed up, holding a tray with some foods that can ease the headache she might feel tomorrow. he didn't leave and just watched her eat until she finished.

"taehyung," she called. he raised an eyebrow, eyes focused on his fidget spinner. she suddenly wondered when will he look at her again, like the first time they met. when will she feel those lips again. "i like you. as a man."

it was awkward for krystal. she finally confessed after a couple of years of being the female best friend. but it didn't seem to bother taehyung at all. he just kept spinning, as if she didn't say something unusual.

"i don't," he replied. it pierced krystal's chest as he said those words without hesitation.

"why?"

he gets the plate and the cup from her to put them on the tray. the sounds of utensils clicking filled the room for the whole minute before he replies.

"because we're friends. i don't want to add romance in our work, krystal. stop liking me." she didn't answer. taehyung stood up and opened her bedroom door, but then he stopped. "i'll pick our friendship. it's the only thong that lasts. i want our friendship to remain."

she raised her head, only to see taehyung's eyes focused on her. again. like that time inside the cubicle with only the two of them.

she didn't know that that will be the last time that he will look at her eyes again.

she cried her heart's content that night. she pitied herself for assuming that taehyung likes her too. because he does things to her that he doesn't do to others. she thought she was special. but she was wrong. she was just one of his friends, but she took it more than that.

her door opened again. for a second, she hoped that it was taehyung. she hoped that he will take back what he said and admit that he likes her too.

but again, she was wrong.

"are you okay?"

it was jimin. his eyes are different from the one she sees everyday. his lips aren't formed into a cocky smirk he always wears. his face is so tender. the face of an angel that god assigned to look after her.

she shook her head, and it was the cue for him to come near and give her a hug. it was all she needed. no words, no explanation. just a hug that will remind her that everything's going to be fine.

she was thankful. jimin always comes out at difficult times for her. he was always there to comfort her, even if they argue more than she and taehyung does. at the end of the day, he was there when no one else was. she and taehyung might be close, but her relationship with jimin is on a different level.

there were a lot of times that she cried alone. because of loneliness, anxiety, and any other things. jimin was always there to look after her, but his efforts was too underrated, krystal failed to notice it. he comforted her a lot of times that she could write a book about all of it.

she didn't know, but she ended up sleeping peacefully that night.

┈┈┈┈․° ☣︎ °․┈┈┈┈

krystal thought that it would be hard for her to talk to taehyung again, but it turns out that they just acted like nothing happened that night. they still treat each other as friends, although krystal put a barrier between them to not get caught in false hopes again.

she even thought that if could affect their work, but it did not. in fact, their work got better and better each time.

they earned enough money in a span of months and had bought a land for their hideout that namjoon planned to build. it was a smart one that no one could think that the entrance to their hideout was a door designed to camouflage the brick walls in a dark street.

they're here right now, planning for another heist before they fly to italy. it was namjoon's idea. he said that south korea's too small for them. they have enough money from the previous heists so they can afford a trip to few countries in europe.

"yah, krystal jung. get your feet off the table," jimin said. she rolled her eyes and ignored his words.

"don't be rude. your boots don't look good," yoongi said.

"yah, don't make me step on your face with these," she said and finally gets her feet off the table.

"yah? yah? yah, use honorifics. i'm older than you," yoongi said as he throws her a glare.

"yes, grandpa."

their bickering lasted for a bit long. namjoon's hush didn't make them stop that he wanted to throw them outside their hideout because he's working on the map for their next work. until taehyung came in, sweaty with the serious look on his face. he doesn't talk, but krystal knows him well that he can see the panic in his face, which the others fail to notice.

"why?" she asks.

"someone's following me."

krystal stood up and held her gun on her waist as she looked at the peep hole to see if someone's outside.

"what did you do?" seokjin asked.

"he noticed me when i stole his wallet."

"oh, that's dumb," yoongi said. "you let someone notice you?"

"that's odd. i can't even notice when you're stealing something from me. either you're not careful or he's just like you," jimin said.

"someone's outside," krystal said as she held her gun tightly, getting ready to shoot whoever he is before she opens the door.

they all froze when krystal showed her stone cold face as she fastly aimed her gun on the guy's temple.

"what now? are you just going to stare? pull the trigger, lady. i'm getting impatient."

they all showed a shocked expression, except of course, taehyung, who doesn't move any face muscle. and namjoon, who found the voice familiar that came from someone he knew.

then they met jeon jungkook.

namjoon always tell them things about him. that he's a potential member, but he hesitates to let him join the team because he's too young and he's afraid that it might cause him trauma. that kid has been through a lot, and he treats him as his younger brother that he doesn't want him to do dangerous things like this. but he also wanted to take him from his father who made him suffer. he was stuck, but yoongi managed to say the right words and made him join.

┈┈┈┈․° ☣︎ °․┈┈┈┈

"don't you like him?" taehyung asked. krystal and him are having their dinner. these days, they always fail to join them for breakfast and dinner.

"who?" she asked back.

"jungkook."

"i do like him. he's cute."

taehyung furrows his brows, confused, staring at his food, as if asking them to give an explanation.

"then why do you treat him badly?"

krystal tilted her head. "am i? no, i'm just awkward and i don't know what to do to him. he's actually cute."

taehyung sighed after he drank his water after finishing his meal.

"i heard him talking to namjoon hyung. he wanted to leave because he thinks we treat him badly."

krystal's mouth gapped open. she didn't realize that jungkook felt awkward just because she doesn't know how to communicate. she kept thinking on how to get back to him so he won't leave.

"what if we make breakfast for him tomorrow?"

taehyung snickered. he finished his meal and just kept spinning the fidget spinner on his hand.

"you know how to cook?" he asked, left eyebrow curved upward, his words sounding like a high doubt.

"pancakes!"

however, he still agreed. although krystal doubts if he will wake up early tomorrow, because he always sleeps deeply. the reason why she can't join the other's breakfast is to join him because he's always waking up late. she doesn't want him to eat alone.

"i don't know how to cook. i'll just assist you tomorrow," is all he said before he went up in his room to sleep.

she sctratch the back of her head while searching a pancake recipe in her phone. she knows the ingredients and their exact measurements, but she doesn't understand the procedure.

after a few minutes, she went up and went to yoongi's room to ask about the recipe. but he wasn't there. the lights are off and all she sees is jimin's face, lighten up by his bright phone screen. he looked at her and opened his lamp.

"where's yoongi oppa?" she asked.

"he said he went down to eat," he answered, running his eyes. "why?"

"huh? no one's downstairs."

"maybe he went out."

she tilted her head, wondering why he needs to go out when they all have the foods in their house.

"i'm just gonna ask about this pancake recipe i found online. maybe i'll just go to seokjin oppa instead," she turned her bsck to open the door, but she was cut off by jimin.

"i can help."

so jimin explained every procedure. he doesn't know why krystal suddenly became interested in cooking, but he didn't ask anyway. his questions were answered the next morning, when they spotted her and taehyung cooking in the kitchen.

since jungkook joined them, he became incharged in shopping for the fruits. krystal always notices jungkook's cart half-filled by strawberries and she always spots him eating those every midnight. she always looks at jungkook, and maybe he wasn't really used to krystal and her piercing eyes that's why he came up with an idea that she doesn't like him. but actually, she's just plainly watching. he misunderstood her looks.

┈┈┈┈․° ☣︎ °․┈┈┈┈

"do you like him?" taehyung asked. she's in his room, laying in his bed while watching him and jimin play video games.

"who?" she asked back.

"me," jimin interrupted. he showed her a cocky smirk, but she just rolled her eyes.

"jungkook," taehyung continued. krystal shrugged, not really sure what to answer. he's not dumb to notice how krystal changed her attitude towards jungkook since he told her what he heard that night.

"yeah? as a friend. i mean, i just got guilty so i'm doing my best to get back to him."

taehyung lifted one side of his lips, but not enough to form a smile. he doesn't believe it. he, himself, experienced the acts that she shows to jungkook, and she ended up liking him.

"maybe he's just jealous," jimin, again, interrupted. "jungkook's likeable, anyway. he's lovely. but i'm lovelier, though."

she chuckled. "how about you, kim taehyung? do you like him?" she asked, as she remembered that night. taehyung tells her everything that bothers him, and the way he opened up about jungkook, she can tell that he doesn't want him to leave, too.

"i do."

he earned a look from the two of them. the video game ended, jimin won at the end because he was out of focus since he opened up the topic about jungkook. he stood up, trying hard to not show his embarrassed face.

"that guy's doomed," jimin says. krystal tilted her head, not catching up what he meant, but he didn't borher to explain. he just sat beside her and they ended up watching a movie inside taehyung's room.

while the embarrassed guy went out to the veranda, where he always spots jungkook staring at the plants in their mini garden. he always looks at him when the others are not around. smiles to himself everytime he sees jungkook smiling out of nowhere as if reminiscing something from the past. or even when jungkook eats in a cute way that shows his small dimples above his lips. or even when he's biting his lower lip and his dimples on his cheeks shows up. he notices those small things. and those little things are enough to make him melt slowly.

┈┈┈┈․° ☣︎ °․┈┈┈┈

"hold my hand!" jungkook shouts as he climbed up on the roof. krystal did as what she was told, and they ran through the roofs, laughing like idiots while confusing the police.

krystal always liked jungkook's company. he always has lots of stories to tell. she finds him adorable that she wanted to give him the whole world as a gift.

their loud steps and crazy laughs weren't that loud enough to match the deafening sound of her heartbeat. that night, she concluded, that for the second time, she fell for one of her best friends.

her happiness level went down as soon as she saw namjoon's furious face. he was angry. yes, they weren't caught, but namjoon couldn't deal with a failed plan. he was a perfectionist. she thought that making mistakes are normal, especially if they're in a new country. this isn't like south korea and they weren't used to this yet.

she ended up staying inside her room for the whole night, thinking how the hell did they went wrong. everything was planned well.

"krystal? you awake?"

jimin's outside her room. it's midnight, and krystal knows that his insomnia attacks again, so she lets him in. he needed to let out his thoughts until nothing bothers him anymore so he can sleep, and if not taehyung, krystal's always there to listen.

"taehyung's not in our room. did i disturb you?" he asked. she shook her head and tapped the bed a few times to invite him to sit down.

he tells her a lot of stories while they drink a can of beer. it was peaceful, until jimin opens up the topic that's really bothering him since then.

"you like jungkook, don't you?"

krystal looked at him, then slowly nodded her head. he smiles as he drank his remaining beer before he stood up. without words, he left the room. krystal was left, her head tilts again as she wonders why.

jimin throws himself to his bed and looked at the ceiling for the rest of the night. he still can't sleep. the cans of beer didn't even make him sleepy. his eyes were tired but his mind still wanders. his roommate, taehyung, didn't sleep in their room.

maybe being krystal's comforter whenever she feels bad didn't really changed her feelings towards him. he's been with her for seven years, yet he's the only one who fell.

they always met by chance. but even if he threw her dozens of apples, stole all her jewelries, comfort her everyday and stay by her side the whole time, krystal will never feel the same way as he do. he was just a best friend. the one she needs when she's sad, but nothing when she's happy.

maybe fate made him meet krystal to be that kind of guy in her eyes. maybe, he really wasn't meant to be liked back. maybe he's just there to watch the first woman he liked, like somebody else.

it was that night in madrid when jimin's resting at the rooftop, watching the city lights at midnight, gazing at the stars, when he spotted taehyung and jungkook walking back home, holding each others' hands to fight the coldness of the wind. he knew something was going on between them. he knew krystal's gonna get hurt again. but he didn't say a word about it. it may sound selfish, but he wanted krystal to see it for herself. so when that time comes, she could run to him. so he could hug her and make her feel that he was beside her all the time.

even that time when krystal got pissed at taehyung for taking over her position in teaching jungkook how to fire a gun.

and that time in new zealand when taehyung and jungkook were having fun on the lake and krystal joins in.

and that moment when krystal hopefully asked if taehyung and jungkook are not boyfriends. he saw how her eyes glistened when jungkook shook his head. he saw how taehyung got irritated. he sees everything. but he stays quiet.

he was still frustrated about it even on her birthday celebration. he drank a lot, he didn't even noticed that he slept inside the bathroom, his hair's messy and sticky because of the alcohol he poured on himself.

he really enjoyed their stay in new zealand, until the last day comes. yoongi taught him how to catch some fish, and it was their dinner that night. all of them didn't fail to notice krystal's aura. he can tell that she's between mad and sad. he wanted to ask her what happened, or what's bothering her, but he decided to just let it pass and talk about it on midnight, like how they used to.

he went out of his room and saw taehyung who smiled at him on the way. he really changed a lot. you wouldn't believe that it was the same taehyung who never looks up and never smiles. he also saw jungkook coming out of krystal's room. just like taehyung, he smiles at him too.

that's when he entered and saw her sitting on her bed, hugging her pillow. he opened his mouth to say a word, but krystal didn't give him the chance. she stood up immediately and hugged him.

she cried on his shoulder that night. just like the old times, he comforted her. like how he always does. because that's what he is.

that's just what he is.

┈┈┈┈․° ☣︎ °․┈┈┈┈

their christmas is just like the old times. only happier because one member joined them. it was loud. seokjin was so drunk, he mumbles senseless words, just like how handsome he is, how he loves himself, and some things only a narcissist says.

"krystal, i'm handsome, right?" he says.

"taehyung's more handsome," she replied, laughing, although there's nothing to laugh at. she's just so drunk. "but you're nicer than him, though. ah, i can't believe i once liked that asshole," she mumbles.

"what? you liked him? i thought jungkook's the only dumb one here who likes my brother."

jimin laughed. good thing those two aren't here. maybe they're somewhere else to have a date.

"yeah. i told him that i like him, and he said," krystal coughed to mimic taehyung's voice, "i don't."

seokjin laughed. it even lingered on their ears for a few seconds after he stopped.

"what if someone tells you that they like you, hyung?" jimin asked.

"i'll tell that someone that i like myself too."

he face palmed in reply. kim seokjin's self love is really like no other. he falls inlove with himself whenever he looks at the mirror. they won't be shocked if he decides to marry himself one day.

they played rock, paper and scissors that night and krystal and jimin lose so they were assigned to clean up their mess.

she's the only one among them who has a low alcohol tolerance but enjoys drinking a lot. she doesn't even want to waste a single drop of alcohol, so the two of them ended up emptying all the bottles before cleaning. it was cold, and the rnb music playing in the jukebox is all they could hear around the living room.

it was a mess. krystal slept on the couch and jimin cleaned by himself. he was too tired to walk upstairs. although it was cold, he bobbed his head down on the small table after taking off his coat and giving it to krystal as her blanket.

krystal wakes up at dawn because the cold's intolerable. she was shivering despite the thick coat that covers her. she sees jimin beside her, sleeping on the carpet, shivering too. all he has is a thin shirt to fight the coldness of december. that's when she found out that he gave her his coat so she could sleep with warmth. she went upstairs to get a thick blanket for him.

"you're such an angel, park jimin," she whispers while helping him lay down the carpet, because she can't lift him up.

she climbs on the couch and covered herself with the same blanket. she stares at jimin for a while, only to notice those thick eyelashes that were resting on his closed eyes. his blonde hair that covers most of his forehead. the nose that breathes the cold air that circulates inside the room. those plump lips formed into a pout as he makes tiny snores.

cute.

that's all what she can say. almost eight years of being together, but this is the first time she appreciated his visual.

staring at him for a minute made her have a little flashback of all their moments.

suddenly, she wonders. what if the apple he threw didn't land on her? they might have not had the chance to meet. what if he didn't steal the things she also stole? she might have not told hoseok that he's a potential member. what if she didn't follow him when she noticed him stealing at the grocery stote? he might not have happened to join them.

what if jimin didn't pass through that dark hallway when the bullies locked her inside the stock room? she might have suffocated because no one usually goes there. what if jimin didn't come to the same party she attended? she might have drunk herself to death without someone to stop her.

if those things hadn't happened, she might have cried every night by herself with no one to tell all her frustrations. she must have slept on the couch alone, shivering because of the cold.

without jimin, her life might have been difficult. it might not have been the same.

how nice it is to have a park jimin in her life. it's one of the things she's proud of. park jimin is someone to be proud of.

she smiles by herself, thinking of the movie they watched that time in taehyung's room. that word associates how they met.

serendipity.

if that's not it, she doesn't know what to call it. when two people meet by chance, again and again. when the universe pushes two people together, no matter how far they are.

maybe that's it. she failed to see jimin's importance because she was focused on someone else.

but she has the time to focus on him now.

she ended up curling herself on the couch, sharing a blanket with jimin, smiling like an idiot, as she slept.

she just failed to notice that for the third time, she was doomed again.


	4. autumn leaves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> min yoongi's life was boring, until a random stranger messed him up.

min yoongi might be considered as the most stubborn person you will meet. he has ears, but never listens. his eyes can see a lot of things, but he just blinks those out and pretend that he saw nothing at all. so many oppotunities has come to him, but he was too lazy to grab those. he doesn't know what to do with life anymore. he doesn't even know if he's still living.

he didn't have the chance to have a decent family to grow up with. his mom died the day he was born, he doesn't know anything about his dad. he doesn't have clear plans for the future. if you ask what he wanted to be, he will just say a word.

rich.

he wanted to be rich. but he doesn't know how. he rarely holds a large amount of money. when he does, he spent most of them in cigarettes, beers, and foods. he works as a cook in a school cafeteria, and the students really loved his dishes. they didn't want to waste a bit of it. although he was always asked why was he cooking instead of going to school as a student.

he just answers, "i don't want to study." he would rather teach himself or learn from experiences, because he always sees schools as something that teaches all the irrelevant details just to say that they are helping the kids learn. he'd rather be wise, than intelligent.

his work hours are done, and the students are to be dismissed in a few minutes. he was resting on a bench under the large oak tree near the school gate. he held his lighter and lit his cigarette. one puff, the bell rang, and he heard the students' voices coming out.

"smoking is bad for your health."

he looked up, eyes barely open, to see the girl who spoke.

"i'm kim taeyeon. you're the cafeteria cook, right? you cook deliciously."

he just nodded and puffed his cigarette once again. the girl named taeyeon sat beside him, maintaining a proper distance. she started to tell stories about her, introduced herself, and stuff. the number of students are getting fewer and fewer, but her story still goes on.

yoongi didn't speak. he already had his 4th stick, eyes closed while leaning on the trunk. he doesn't seem like he cares at all. he just looks up and watch the tree shed its leaves. it's autumn season in south korea.

"aren't you going home?" he suddenly cut her off. she's too talkative. the sun has already set and they're the only ones remained inside the school.

"oh, yeah. i was about to. how about you?" he didn't reply. he just stood up and walked straight, not even looking back. "i'll wait for you here tomorrow!" she shouts before she picks up her bag and walked at a different direction.

yoongi reached his house-- the place he lives in, but was never considered his home. it was quiet. he steps in, cooked a small amount of food for himself-- that will also be his breakfast tomorrow, did the dishes, showered, and hops on his bed. he has the most boring routine. everything's just the same. no thrill. lifeless.

he smiles to himself when he thought about that kid. taeyeon. he doesn't like her. she's too talkative. they're total opposites. he wonders why she doesn't really seem familiar at all, though they're in the same school.

he gets up and walked out, pulls a stick of cigarette and smoked.

the next day was peaceful. well, it's always peaceful for him, as long as it's quiet. he's always inside the kitchen-- obviously, because he's there to cook and not to serve and portion the dishes. sometimes, he washes the metal trays and chopsticks for additional work pay.

until the other cook called him and ordered him to help portioning the food. apparently, one of their co-workers quit. meaning, he will be busy cooking and serving his own dishes because he's the youngest worker there-- and to pay respect to the older ones, he has to carry that burden. that's fine with him, though.

he's straight-faced as he hands the tray of foods to the students. he doesn't want to talk to any of them. he doesn't want any friends, nor to meet someone new.

"are you mute?" one student asked.

he raised an eyebrow and shook his head as he handed the tray to her. she didn't get it and just leaned forward to stare at yoongi's face because he's looking down.

"why aren't you talking?"

"just so you know, there is a line behind you and those students are starving. if you don't want to eat, atleast be considerate and let them eat."

his patience is something you shouldn't want to mess up. it's like something shorter than your finger nails. one wrong word and he will blow up, and the next thing you knew, he's already spitting fire.

the girl got her meal and turned back. yoongi shook his head. although they're probably just the same age, he wonders if teenagers nowadays are really wild like that. he can't imagine being friends with someone like her.

his duty has finally finished as soon as the bell rang-- indicating that lunch time's already over. he immediately checked his stuff and stormed out of the cafeteria to go to the bench under the tree where he usually rests after work.

he's been there for hours, too drowned by the thoughts flowing in his mind, until the school bell rang. he got back to his senses. he didn't notice that he's been there for hours. the students got out and passed by him, but he sat still. he didn't want to go home yet.

"you're here!"

he looked up. as he saw the girl he met yesterday, taeyeon, his nose scrunched. for sure, she'll be here to tell stories again.

"if you're gonna tell senseless stories, i'm not interested. go home," he said.

she pouted and sat beside him. they were quiet for a while, taeyeon thinking what more to do with her new friend, except talking. and yoongi, thinking of a way to escape. should he just go and leave her or should he make an excuse?

"where do you want to go?" taeyeon asked. she was thinking, if yoongi doesn't want her to talk about herself then she'll just ask things about him.

"new york," yoongi replied.

"no, i mean, in daegu."

he's not that fond of traveling because he'd rather spend his time at home. less energy conserved, the happier he is. but when he has to work hard, he really does his best. there's a place in his mind where he knows he can relax, enjoy a nice view while thinking about life.

"83 tower," he replied.

that's a tower in daegu with 83 floors. a tourist attraction. he hasn't been there. he wanted to see from the bird's eye view if his hometown is really breathtaking.

"okay. we're going there on saturday," taeyeon said.

yoongi furrowed his brows and snickered. she might be filthy rich to decide a destination without thinking about the expenses in going there. or maybe he doesn't really know how people in his age work these days because he mever experienced being wealthy.

"are you asking me on a date?" he asked.

taeyeon bit her lip and laughed as a reply. she didn't answer. yoongi sighed and shook his head, it's too unbelievable for him to be asked out by a girl.

"woah, children these days. in my time, guys are the ones who asks for those things," he mumbles.

"what do you mean in your time? we're the same age. you speak like my grandfather."

yoongi looked at her and chuckled. "do you like me?"

again, she didn't answer. she's having fun seeing yoongi being so full of himself by just thinking that she likes him. she couldn't say exactly, though. she just felt like yoongi's kinda lonely and he needs to know that there is someone who cares for him. 

taeyeon has always been a sweetheart. she's too caring. she can't watch a person suffer alone. she has a sense of empathy, which a lot of person admire.

"woah, so you really like me. okay, i'll go on a date with you."

"okay! all set! give me your phone number."

"i don't have a phone."

"oh... so we'll just meet here at 5, then. see you!"

she turned her back and walked away as yoongi watched her. this girl makes him shake his head everytime. why does she trust a guy easily? does she really make friends with everyone?

he doesn't know, but he ended up smiling while walking on his way home.

saturday came fast. they took the subway and ate first before going inside the 83 tower. it's already dark when they got there, and the city lights' view amazed them as they look onto the telescopes. the view somehow gave them happiness and relaxation.

3 hours before the clock struck twelve, they're already walking home. they decided to part ways on the school.

"thanks for today," taeyeon said.

"no, thanks for today," yoongi replied. "but serously, let me pay next time. you spent too much today."

taeyeon's lips curved into a smile as she stops walking and looked at him suspiciously. "is that your way of asking me for a second date?"

he didn't had the time to answer when they felt a drop of water on their skin. it was too late to realize that it's already raining. yoongi took off his hoodie to cover the both of them. taeyeon rested her other hand on yoongi's waist as they run, trying to find a shed while they wait for the rain to stop.

"it's cold," he said. "do you live around here?"

she shook her head and explained that she actually use the subway to travel from jeonju to daegu and vice versa. it always takes her 2 hours or more.

"the train stations will close in an hour. the bus will take you 3 hours."

"yeah, i guess."

yoongi's hesitating to let her travel alone at midnight under the rain. he has an idea, but he's not that sure if she's comfortable with that. they just met and he doesn't know if she really trusts him.

"do you want... to stay in my place for a while? i mean--"

"i was waiting for you to ask. let's go!"

taeyeon pulled him and they ran towards yoongi's house. it's not that far from the school. taeyeon was surprised to enter his place. it's not that big, not small either. he doesn't have much furnitures and appliances. the insides of his house made it obvious that he's living alone.

they didn't do much. they just talked for a bit to keep their bodies warm while waiting for the rain to stop.

"since when did you live alone?" she asked.

"since i was fourteen, i think? when my grandma died. mom died when she gave birth to me and i didn't know my dad."

"is it sad?"

he thought for a while. is he sad? "at first. but i got used to it until i don't feel sad anymore."

she tapped his shoulder as she smiles. "the angels brought me here so you won't feel sad again."

he chuckled. he knows that she will leave him one day once she realized that he's such a boring person, or when she finds someone more exciting than him. yoongi's not a stranger to heartbreaks and the pain of being let go easily. people come to him and go once he felt comfortable with them. he was sure that taeyeon will be like that, too. everyone's the same-- with different names and personality.

but he can't deny that he wishes that taeyeon will be the first person to stay with him and not let him go easily.

"what do you want to become?" he asked her.

"a policewoman." he nods slowly. "you?"

"i wanted to be rich."

she laughed. they talked more about themselves, until they didn't notice that the rain has already stopped, because they were too obsessed to know more about each other.

as much as he wanted taeyeon to stay until morning and talk about more, he can't.

he accompanied her on the way to the bus station until she gets in. she waved goodbye as she looks at him through the window. before the bus drove away, they exchanged smiles.

sunday felt like years for him. he wants monday to come by so he can go to work, sit at the bench under that tree, and-- go home. yeah. maybe.

"you're smoking again."

he tried to hide his smile when he heard taeyeon's voice in front of him. he looks up and raised an eyebrow. she sat beside him and pulled the cigarette from his mouth.

"what--"

"stop smoking," she said as she pulled something from her pocket and handed it to him. "try this."

a lollipop.

"i don't want any cavities," he replied as he shoves it away.

"okay, i'll give you a chance to pick between having cavities or having a lung cancer."

he didn't answer. he simply gets the lollipop from her and ate it quietly, refusing to look at her victorious smile. he noticed that taeyeon pulls out something from her bag.

a phone.

"this was my old phone. i found it yesterday and thought i might give it to you."

yoongi's mouth left open. taeyeon's giving him a phone and he thought that it was too much.

"seriously, i can buy my own--"

"then keep it for a while and give it back once you bought yours." she didn't give him one more time to refused as she gets his hand and handed it to him. "i'll go now. bye!"

she ran away. that's the time yoongi opened the phone. he snickered when he noticed that the wallpaper is taeyeon's childhood photo. he browsed the albums and it's full of her selcas. he can't suppress his laughs anymore. he kept receiving looks from some passerbys but he doesn't care at all. taeyeon gave him so much laughs today.

the sun has already set when he stood up. he checked the contacts and noticed that the only number that was saved is taeyeon's.

"hey, what's up?" she answered his call.

"your childhood photos are cute."

it took her too long to reply. she didn't know what he meant at first, and when she thought about it, her cheeks flushed red.

"hey! delete those!"

"not happening. see you tomorrow." he ended the call, smiling on the way to his house.

he doesn't expect to see anything new when he got back to his house. he remembers turning off the light when he go to work, but why are those open? he rushed towards the door and opened it, only to see someone he knows that he haven't seen for a while.

"what the fuck are you doing here, kim namjoon?" he asked.

"i missed you too, min yoongi," he mumbles, unclear because he's eating the ramyeon that was supposed to be yoongi's dinner tonight. he munched the noodles for a while, then spoke again. "i'm not alone, by the way."

yoongi's brows furrowed and searched his house with his eyes. "who's with you?"

"not is, but are. let us stay here then we'll get back to seoul. we just went here for some business."

he brushed his face with his palm. kim namjoon is his childhood friend. their grandparents are friends, and namjoon used to visit them every summer. his house is just next to him. yoongi's one year older than him, and they were the only kids in the village that time. namjoon didn't come back for four summers. the next year, he came back to tell yoongi that he wasn't sure if he will visit him again. the last time they met was three years ago, when namjoon slept in his place. after that, he was gone again. until now.

"what business did you came here for?"

namjoon's lips curved upward. the way he smirks tells yoongi that he's doing something dangerous again. because that was the same namjoon he met years ago.

"i wouldn't tell you unless you'll join."

he rolled his eyes. "how could i join if i don't know what the fuck you are doing?"

just then, his front door opened and a sight of a small girl and a guy about the same age as him, showed up.

"that's hoseok and his sister, krystal."

"seriously, joon? you're letting a kid join your shit?"

"she's not a kid. just three years younger than me. anyway, we're doing something illegal that will make us rich."

he gave him a snicker and took the ramyeon to eat the remaining food for him. he hadn't eaten dinner yet.

"you can stay here for a night. just don't make me an accessory to the crime."

he went straight to his room while sipping the noodles from the bowl. namjoon followed him.

"i thought you wanted to be rich?" he asked. yoongi stared at him.

"not this way, joon." he placed the empty bowl onto the table next to his bed and stared at him boredly.

"fine. i won't force you to join. but please let us stay here for a week."

he nods. "as long as you bring dinner every night."

namjoon sighs and nods before he turned his back and got out of his room. yoongi took out his phone that had just vibrated. a text from taeyeon came, asking if he had eaten his dinner. he wanted to say that an alien has stolen his dinner, but he ended up saying a simple 'yes' instead.

he went to the bathroom to take a quick shower and leans on his bed after doing his routine. he was supposed to be sleeping now, but his thoughts don't allow him.

he actually waited for namjoon for years to come and ask him to join. but now that he's here, he doesn't know why he immediately declined. he already made his life useless. he's uneducated. he can easily be rich if he joins namjoon.

he suddenly remembered that saturday night. their conversation.

"a policewoman."

he can't deny that he thought about that when namjoon said that he's doing something illegal. if he joins them, taeyeon would be mad, right?

his rain of thoughts stopped when namjoon pushed his door open and walked towards the bed.

"you're not sleeping here, kim namjoon," he said. namjoon answered him with fake, loud snores, a sign that even if he curses him a thousand times, he will sleep here.

he just sighed and closed his eyes.

┈┈┈┈․° ☣︎ °․┈┈┈┈

the one time saturdate that taeyeon asked him became their habit. they didn't realize that every thursday, they're already planning where to go. the both of them couldn't bare to see the other spending moneys, so they decided to pay half and half. yoongi for the transpo and taeyeon for the foods, and vice versa.

nothing has changed between them. they always meet at the bench under the old tree near the school gates after class. they always finish talking and telling stories when the sun had already set. yoongi walks her to the bus station. that was their daily routine.

maybe taeyeon's life became more exciting because of yoongi. but yoongi can tell that taeyeon made his life different.

he didn't realize that he already stopped spending money on cigarettes. he replaced those with lollipops. though he secretly pulls out one stick when he can't sleep at night. everything was going well. or he thinks so.

the 'one week' that namjoon asked him was extended for months after namjoon told him that their house in seoul is still under construction. yoongi didn't mind it anyways, because namjoon kept his promise that as long as they stay there, his dinner's free. it was also nice that he became close with hoseok because he knows too much about fixing everything in his house. although he had a little problem with his sister, krystal. a day hasn't passed that they weren't shouting at each other.

"the sink's clogged," krystal said.

"that is the first time that my sink has been clogged. what the fuck did you do?"

krystal gave him a look before she answers, "excuse me, yoongi. did i complain--"

"okay, stop. i'll fix it," namjoon said.

"no," krystal and yoongi said at the same time. they are not letting namjoon to any chores.

"let's wait for hoseok."

they patiently waited at the living room, each of them holding their own phones, not talking. hoseok entered the house and krystal immediately told him the problem.

yoongi's phone vibrated. it's the same phone that taeyeon gave him. he already got used to its features so he didn't really think of replacing it yet. it's been with him for 5 months.

"you free tonight?" taeyeon's text says.

"yeah. why?" he replied.

"let's meet. the same bench."

"you're in daegu?"

"yep. visited my relative. i'll see you there."

he immediately got his hoodie and left the house without a word. he walked the dark road towards the school. taeyeon came shortly after him, smiling, as usual.

"hey, did something happen?" he asked.

"not that big. wanna talk about it while walking?"

he nodded. they started walking through the dark road slowly, going wherever their feet lead them.

"you know my graduation's coming in a few weeks, right?" taeyeon started. yoongi nodded. "i don't think i'll study my few years here. my uncle already gave me tickets to italy." she expected yoongi to be sad, or angry about it. but again, he just nodded. "aren't you mad?"

he just smiled. he wanted to say, 'i knew it'. he already thought about this moment. he knew taeyeon's gonna leave him, but he didn't expect it to be so soon.

"i understand," is all that came out of his mouth.

it made taeyeon smile. "i was nervous at first. i thought you'll be mad at me. but don't worry. i'll come back for you after a few years. when that time comes, i'm already a policewoman."

"i'll look forward to that. please catch me," he joked.

she pinched his arm, which made him wince in pain. "i don't want to see you at the police station as a criminal, okay? promise me, you won't do bad things."

she raised her pinky finger. yoongi hesitated for a while, because it's too childish. but she gave him a look, so he immediately took his pinky finger too. they curled their pinkies together and their thumbs touched.

"promise me that you won't smoke again."

"yeah."

"no dangerous things."

"yeah."

"take care of your body."

"yeah."

"no too much beer."

"yeah."

"you will wait for me."

"ye-- what?"

taeyeon smiled. "you promised. you have to keep that. no matter how long, you have to wait. because i'll come back for you no matter what."

he tried to hide his smile, but he can't. this girl is really making obvious that she likes him. it makes him flustered everytime she does that.

they reached the bus station, but their conversation stopped there. they both didn't want to start another topic again. with their red cheeks and aching chests, they don't look like they'll be able to talk as 'friends' again.

the bus stopped in front of them. to yoongi's surprise, taeyeon tiptoed and reached for his cheeks before she ran towards the bus. she sat and looked away, not wanting to meet his eyes.

that night, yoongi's smile didn't fade until he reached their house. his friends are looking at him unbelievably, because he never smiled like that until now. he just smiles like that when he's with her.

┈┈┈┈․° ☣︎ °․┈┈┈┈

february has come and the graduation day is happening the next day. since 'that' night, taeyeon did her best to create memories with yoongi. if you would ask her what happened in a certain day, she would immediately answer what she and yoongi did that time. she tried her best to not forget what happened in their date. she takes pictures, prints them, and pastes those in her journal that she made for the two of them.

she doesn't like to forget someone like yoongi. the guy she thought that never cared for anyone. he makes a person feel uncomfortable when they try to get close to him. but when you successfully got inside his life, he will take care of you like you are the most precious thing he got.

she even compares him a lot to a philosopher because he always has a quote about something. she wrotes his words in the journal. she wanted to read those when they're apart.

yoongi was prepared. he was alone in his house that day, because the three had some 'work' to do. he decided to go out for a short walk around the neighborhood. he was nervous for tomorrow. that was the last day he will see her. he doesn't know if he can take it.

"yo, going somewhere?"

he met krystal on his way. he rolled his eyes. "where are they?" he asked.

"they bought drinks for you. come back there."

"drinks? for what? it's 2 PM."

"for celebration because we successfully took out the money," she leaned to whisper on his ear, careful to not be heard by others.

he just sighed and walked after her. maybe a little drink will do, since he promised taeyeon that he will seldom drink. 

"anyway, hyung," namjoon said in the middle of their drinking. "we'll leave tomorrow. our house was already built."

he just nodded in response. maybe he won't catch them when they leave tomorrow because he has something to attend to.

a night passed by, until taeyeon's graduation day came. she told yoongi not to bring any gifts. he waited until the ceremonies has finished. taeyeon still hasn't noticed him because of the large crowd. however, they agreed to meet under the tree-- where they usually talk after class.

so he waited there until he saw taeyeon coming near. she wasn't smiling at all and yoongi doesn't know if it's because they will part ways or she's pissed because yoongi was smiling all the time knowing that she will leave after some hours.

"yoongi," she said. he stood up, open arms. taeyeon rushed to him for a tight hug. some seconds later, she was already sobbing.

"shh, it's fine."

that was a lie. it's not fine at all. parting ways will never be fine, knowing that she will be miles away from him and she'll be staying abroad for years. she might meet someone else and forget him.

"do me a favor," she whispered, cheeks still pressed onto yoongi's neck.

"anything," he replied.

"forget me."

the whole place went quiet. his heart stopped beating for seconds. his jaw dropped.

"anything, but not that. please don't say that."

taeyeon cried more and buried her face more on his shoulder. she continued crying without even explaining why she suddenly said that. after they made a pinky promise. after they made memories together. after she told him to wait for her. 

"why?" he asked. his voice cracked as he looked up, not wanting his tears to fall down on his cheeks.

she didn't answer. instead, she breaks away from their hug, turned her back, and walked away, leaving yoongi alone. again. he expects her to turn around and look at his eyes for the last time, for a proper goodbye at least, but she did not.

she disappeared in the crowd and yoongi had nothing to do but turn his back and walk towards his house, hoping that he'll catch namjoon before they leave.

taeyeon told him to forget her. and it also means that their pinky promise was already broken, right? because promises were meant to be like that.

"joon!" he called as he steps in his house.

krystal was there, shoving a lollipop in her mouth, which she immediately hid on her back, because she just stole it from yoongi's jar.

"yeah?" namjoon shouts from inside his room. he's already packing his things when yoongi went to see him.

"i'll join you."

krystal ran and peeked from the door to make sure that she heard him right. even hoseok, that's in the bathroom. namjoon stopped what he was doing and looked at him unbelievably.

"you'll what?" he asked.

"join. you. why are you so dramatic?" he asked and rolled his eyes. he got a bag inside one of his cabinets and started packing his things too.

"what made you do this, min yoongi?" namjoon asked.

"nothing. i just wanted to live in a mansion."

he tried to hide the bitterness in his voice. he knows that he's doing it because of taeyeon. he wanted to rebel. he's not keeping any of their promises.

"you have to join our work too, and you need proper training," krystal said.

"training, my ass. i can go without that. i'm a genius."

she rolled her eyes and left the room to avoid hearing any of yoongi's shit.

namjoon expected a lot from yoongi, and he never disappointed him. he might complain a lot when it comes to planning, but he does his best when it's time to do the actual work. they were never caught. and he wasn't kidding when he said that he could do it without any shitty lessons from namjoon. he also quit his job-- which is a big loss for the school cafeteria-- but a great one for namjoon, krystal and hoseok, because they get to taste his cooking everyday.

as time passes by, their group met some people that helped them through it. that's when namjoon proposed that since they had already enough people, why don't they go abroad to try robbing bigger banks since they felt like they had already entered all of them in korea.

"that's cool. where are we going?" krystal asked.

"i was thinking of italy."

yoongi frozed. he looked at namjoon, wide-eyed. he immediately fell into a well of thoughts. he wasn't aware on what they were talking about. his mind just screams taeyeon. taeyeon. and taeyeon.

he would be lying if he says that he doesn't miss her. he damn missed her everyday. he still keeps the old phone she gave him years ago, although he already has enough money to afford a more expensive one. he keeps it to reread their old messages and browse the album full of her pictures.

taeyeon told him to forget, but he never agreed. because he definitely can't.

he never thought that a girl can make him be like this. he got back to smoking and gave all his lollipops to krystal after the graduation incident. he always drinks beer with jimin every night because they both suffer from insomnia. he does illegal things with his friends.

he is a criminal. and taeyeon's probably a policewoman now. they are enemies.

taeyeon might be somewhere in seoul, but there's a larger chance that she stayed in italy because that's where she studied college. it's been years. she must be a grown up woman now, chasing criminals like him on the streets.

she probably knows how to hold a gun. yoongi also knows how, though. the only difference is they're not shooting for the same purpose.

italy's too big. he was sure that they won't probably meet in there. he's not in a cliché movie afterall.

"i'll just eat downstairs," he says to his roommate, jimin, who was busy scrolling on his phone. he didn't even gave a glance when yoongi gets up.

he went down and saw taehyung and krystal on the kitchen, seriously talking about the fuck he doesn't know. he had to sneak out to avoid their questions. he took the bus to the subway. it's 8 PM, and it takes probably 2 hours to reach daegu.

he will visit the school. for the last time. before they fly to europe.

he was too preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't notice he's already at his destination. the night was peaceful as the summer season's close to its end.

he stopped on his track when he saw the school gate from afar. he can see some of the buildings inside, renovated and painted into a more modernized design. he was expecting a large tree beside the school gate, but there was nothing. what remained there was a bench. the bench where they sat and met each other.

he bumped into someone and when he asked about the tree, he said that it was cut and he doesn't know why.

he just turned back and walked away. he was afraid that if he sits on that bench, it will trigger their memories and he might end up making a scene there as a crying mess.

he took the bus on his way home. he sat beside the window, looking outside and admiring the view of south korea for the last time. he reached his house and he found jimin opening a can of beer alone. he passed him one can and they drank the whole night, just like the usual.

"krystal was looking for you. i thought you were downstairs?"

"nah. i went out."

jimin didn't ask for more details. yoongi didn't want to talk about taeyeon, either. all of them doesn't know who she is.

┈┈┈┈․° ☣︎ °․┈┈┈┈

"hyung, wanna come?" jungkook's head popped out as the door swung open. it's their first day in italy, and he doesn't feel good after the long flight.

"where?" he asked, his eyes still focused on the book he was reading.

"with krystal--"

"no," he immediately declined.

"why do you all decline when it's about krystal," jungkook mumbles as he turns his back and walks away.

he knows that she's going to shop. he already experienced shopping with her, and that's a thing he will never do again. girls and their damn fashion. why can't they just wear normal clothes? do they really have to enter all the shops? he doesn't get it. jungkook's just new to them so he really doesn't know how krystal wastes money for such pieces of fabric. yoongi was sure that after this day, jungkook will give up on going out with her.

they carried out their plan on the next days. he was confident about namjoon's plan. he made it really detailed for their first time robbing a bank abroad. but in the middle of their work, something was off. he felt it. but he didn't say a word. until jungkook and krystal passed the bags to him and went out on the other direction.

the alarms rang. he was stuck on his position until it came to him that he was holding most of the money. he made his moves fast and smart until he finally reached the car where seokjin was waiting. the police cars are already behind them when they drove off, until jungkook and krystal went on the way to confuse them. finally, they were already driving successfully until they reached the house.

they were all upset that night. yoongi couldn't sleep, so he decided to go out for a while. he changed his clothes and walked outside, trying to fit into crowded places. he reached a certain spot, similar to a park. it's not that crowded.

large trees are everywhere snd benches are resting below them. some trees are already shedding their leaves, some trees have orange leaves. it's autumn.

he sat on one of the benches, looking around as he pulls a stick of cigarette out of his pocket. this place suddenly reminded him of a 17-year-old min yoongi, a young cook in a school cafeteria, disturbed by a random jolly girl that eventually left him after making him fall for her.

"so it was you."

he looked to his left, where the familiar voice of a woman came from.

he wanted to slap himself to see if what's he's seeing is real. he knows that voice and that face.

his mind was blank after a sudden flood of thoughts after seeing her. again. after long years.

she sat beside him. like the first time they met. yoongi immediately looked away as he huffs a smoke out if his mouth. he doesn't care if taeyeon's beside him. he doesn't care about the promise.

"i thought we agreed that you would already stop smoking?" she said, gently pulling away the stick of cigarette out of his mouth. but he shoves her hand away.

they went quiet. yoongi couldn't believe that what he was worried about before coming to italy, really happened. he admits, he wanted to see her again. but now that she's here beside him, he doesn't know what to do.

"how are you?" he asked.

taeyeon smiled. she thought he wouldn't care about her. so she told her story. the reason why he asked yoongi to forget her is because on her graduation day, her uncle told her that they will be staying in italy for good. they will never come back to south korea. she thought yoongi would just stay there, which means they will never meet again. it led her to a thought to just tell yoongi to forget her instead of waiting for her to come back. she doesn't want him to wait for nothing.

she's already a police now, just like what she told yoohgi on their first date.

"i guess you had already achieved your dream, too," she said.

his dream is to be rich. yes, he has lots of money now, but that wasn't enough for him. he wanted to be extremely rich. they have a lot of countries to visit soon.

"have you heard the news?" she asked. yoongi shook his head. "a bank was robbed just an hour ago."

he tried his best to not get suspicious. he kept nodding his head and puffing smoke on his cigarette. he waas just looking up while watching the leaves fall from the trees.

"i was one of the police who tried to catch them. and you know what i found out?"

"what?" he bluntly asked.

"you're one of them, aren't you?"

silence fell between them.

he couldn't answer.

"why?" she asked again. "why did you do that, yoongi?"

"do you have your handcuffs with you? catch me now."

her tears fell. it was the same yoongi who speaks bluntly, but honestly. but why does she feel like he has changed?

her eyes caught yoongi the moment he got inside of the car. she tried to chase them, and she thought yoongi got out of the car and ran on the roofs but it turns out that it wasn't yoongi. it was someone else. even if years had already passed, she won't forget him. the pale white skin she always admired back then, and his side profile. she saw it, even for some miliseconds, she knew it was him.

what broke her heart is the fact that yoongi became someone that she did not expect him to be. he broke his promises.

"i told you that i don't want to put handcuffs on you as a criminal, min yoongi. why did you do it?"

"you're the one who broke the promise first, taeyeon. don't ask me that shit."

for almost a decade of praying to see yoongi again, it was all she got. a mad yoongi who became a criminal. she doesn't want it. was it her fault for telling him to forget her? maybe not. she just wanted to achieve her dreams. she was so sure of yoongi that time. she believed she will meet him again, because that's how fate works, right? but what the fuck is happening right now?

"those promises are for you! not for us!"

"what am i without you? you came to my life, made me fall in love with you, one day you told me to wait for you, the next day you're telling me to forget you? you're all i had that time!"

"i was thinking of my future!"

"am i not included in that future?"

silence.

she couldn't answer. was she selfish for thinking about herself? at the times she was living comfortably with so many people cheering for her, was yoongi alone in his house with no one to cheer him up. she's all he's got. but she left. for her dreams. did yoongi do this as a payback for leaving him?

"don't answer. maybe i really am not."

"no!"

yoongi looked at her. she's a crying mess. he let go of the cigarette he was holding, hesitating if he would wipe her tears away. but he can't. because they were not the kids who were caught up in a childish love like before.

deep inside him, he was blaming himself. was he selfish? taeyeon had a decent dream and he has not, so he won't really understand what she feels that time. she fought for her dreams. if he was her, will he also do the same?

or maybe he just can't accept that he's not the one she picked.

"i was thinking of going back to you, to apologize. but i--"

"but you did not go back because your dream is more important. i know. i understand."

"you're also important."

he snickered. was he really important? then why did she hurt him? why did she leave?

"stop doing those things. i'm already here. didn't you do that because of me? please stop that. we can-- we can have another chance."

he was breathless for a second. he thought about those seven idiots he lived with for the past years. they made a strong bond. yes, taeyeon was there when he had nothing, but those guys stayed with him when taeyeon left. he knew that they will never leave him, unlike what she did.

"you had already achieved your dream, taeyeon, and i am achieving mine. just like what you did, i am choosing my dream. they were helping me achieve that, because we all have the same dream."

her cries went louder. is this what he felt when she left him back then? because it hurts. big time.

the tables have turned. and she can't do anything but to accept that. maybe, this is what's supposed to happen.

she tried to smile while nodding her head.

"take care of yourself. leave the country as soon as possible before you get caught."

yoongi stood up, about to turn his back, but before he could, taeyeon pulled him and their bodies crash into a tight hug. she was crying on his chest.

"i love you," she whispered.

and that was the cue for yoongi's tears to fall. he waited for years to hear her say those words. and now that she did, he badly wanted to reply. he wanted to tell her that he still loves her despite of what happened between them. but he can't. because choosing her means leaving his family.

he immediately wiped his tears before she could see it. he badly wanted to hug her back and make her feel that he loves her. but he's afraid that when he does that, he might change his mind.

they were supposed to be strangers after this. they must pretend like they don't exist in each other's world even though it hurts. it was a kind of love that you can't pick, because they were two different persons. they can't be together.

she loosened the hug, sad because she didn't even felt yoongi's arm touch her even a bit.

yoongi wanted to pull her again for a longer, tighter hug. he doesn't want this moment to end. he wanted to stay with her forever. he wanted the two of them to be happy like before. he doesn't want to let go.

why is it that the person he thought would stay with him forever has to leave him first?

"goodbye," she said. 

she was the first to turn her back. yoongi felt like he was seventeen again, watching his first love walk away without even looking back after telling him to forget her. it felt fresh, like it had just happened yesterday. she didn't look back while walking away. she was wiping her tears that doesn't seem to stop.

it was sad that she couldn't turn back time. she wanted to live in that year again. if she only turned to walk back towards him again when she had the chance, she would.

and yoongi just watched her drift away from afar. his tears streamed down, like the leaves falling around him. he looked up and noticed that the last leaf on tree he was standing at is about to fall.

he was like that leaf, holding on to a small possibility that they still have a chance to be together. but the leaf slowly fell from the branch, it even touched his skin.

he was the leaf that still hopes in the middle of desperation, but still lets go, because it's not the right season to hold on. because it was autumn, and that leaf was supposed to let go. it couldn't be avoided.

somehow, he thought that it's just like them. maybe it's not the right season for them to hold on. maybe in another life, they will have the chance to choose their dreams freely. the dream that doesn't have to hurt them. maybe in their next life, they won't have to choose between love and dreams. maybe in another season, they will achieve both.

because life was supposed to be a happy ending, right?

he got home that night like nothing happened. he was expecting his roommate, jungkook, to be in their room, but the beds were empty. he just didn't mind it and went to namjoon's room to talk.

he was still angry when he went inside, but got calm after they talked. yoongi told him to go to their next destination as soon as possible. he relied what taeyeon said. and he agreed.

he almost forgot what happened between him and taeyeon when they finally relaxed in new zealand after having a break. as he said, he's not really a fan of traveling, but new zealand is an exemption. everything about that place is just so beautiful.

and when they celebrated new year in russia, he reflected what happened to him for the past months. the countries they visited made him happy, but what made it memorable are the seven people beside him.

it's already winter, but their strong bond is making his heart warm. he admits, autumn next year might still hurt, but knowing that he has seven people to support him and enjoy despite how sad that season is, he can wait until the spring day, when the leaves grow again. when everything will be alright.

he was looking at each one of them, and he realized one thing.

the best decision he made was choosing them.


	5. come back home

"joon, i'm heading out."

namjoon lifts his head up to see seokjin's head peeking behind the door. he raised his eyebrow, a sign of asking where he's going.

"picking up krystal at the mall. i'll be quick."

he nodded and seokjin disappeared. namjoon faced his laptop again, patiently waiting if jungkook has already opened his phone. he remembered putting a tracker on each of the members' phones to find where they are if ever they get lost. he did that before they had their first trip abroad. he can track them through their phones wherever they are.

but still, jungkook hasn't turned his phone on. he set an alert notification on his laptop to update him, if ever the tracker activates, then he got out to go down for a snack.

it's been a month since they decided to stay in their house in seoul while finding jungkook. instead of wasting money on going to places they weren't sure jungkook had gone to, they decided to just stay in one place while finding him.

he's alone inside their large house that day. jimin went to busan to see if jungkook came back to their house. taehyung went to daegu. yoongi-- well, he doesn't know if he's sleeping inside his room or he got out. hoseok went to gwangju to fix some papers.

he was helping taehyung since day 1. they all know that he made some technological devices such as trackers, small cameras, and many more, that can help them with their works. namjoon's a tech geek. he loves to study and make inventions. you could say that he's already living in the future.

eversince, he's always been smart. he's a trophy son. basically, because his mother was also a trophy daughter. he lived his childhood climbing up to exceed their expectations. they all thought that this genius' future will bloom into something magnificent. his brain works differently. he does the thing most people hate-- reading and studying.

but when he grew up, he got tired of it. he doesn't want those medals and certificates anymore. he eventually changed his perception in life. he realized that living others' expectation doesn't make him happy anymore. his teenage years was the worst. he became a rebel. he doesn't follow his parents' rules anymore, he did bad things to himself that made his parents mad.

he would be a doctor if he let his parents control his life. he was forced to read medical books at young age, because that's what they want him to become. although he doesn't want to, he was able to learn a lot of things. too bad, he became fed up.

then that's it. he was disowned by his parents because they felt like he's ruining their family's reputation. he lived by himself with nothing. he did not receive even a cent from them. he stayed in yoongi's place for months and lived by robbing people on the streets. when he gets bored, he reads books in yoongi's house. a book about technology caught his attention, until he started making his own devices. the first ones were a fail, and he wasn't really satisfied with the results so he stopped.

then he met krystal, who gave him a food after seeing him looking sad on the streets. that's just her tactic because she was about to steal namjoon's wallet. surprisingly, he caught her in the act. instead of being angry about it, he taught her the right way of doing it. then he met hoseok too, and although they don't know each other yet, they decided to form a team.

he lived in krystal and hoseok's house and that's when he continued making devices. trackers were the first successful ones he did. and their wireless earpiece that they use everytime they work was also made by him.

then he went to busan, where his parents work. they asked him for the last time to choose: being a doctor or being kicked out completely from the family. that time, he thought about krystal and hoseok. they treated him more than a family, trusted him since day one. those are the things that his real family failed to do. without hesitation, he turned his back and got out. that was his answer. he let go of the luxurious life his family offered him for his two friends.

there were times that they failed. he's been put into jail, together with hoseok. but that doesn't stop them. that was the day he met young jungkook.

jungkook thought he was gonna hurt him, because that's what he received his whole life. but he was surprised of how nice namjoon was. they became instant friends, namjoon treated him as his real brother, gave him free lessons because jungkook didn't had the chance to study, taught him taekwondo lessons, gave gim free snacks, and everything he could do to help the poor boy.

jungkook was the reason behind his decision to built their hideout in busan. they told them a lot of things about him. that he's a fast learner, he's a potential member, he could be the brain of the group.

he spent years collecting his members. each one of them is valuable, and jungkook's disappearance bothered him so much. 

"dummy, your alarm's bothering my sleep."

he got back to his senses when he heard yoongi's voice behind him. he immediately ran towards his room, where he set the alarm notification. he looked at the screen and zoomed it out at the location of the red circle.

"daegu?" he asked, confused. but still, he picked up his laptop, got his keys and went down. "jungkook's in daegu," namjoon said to yoongi as soon as he got down.

yoongi was shocked, but he didn't say a word. he got up to change and immediately went down to go with namjoon. yoongi drove while namjoon still faces his laptop, keeping track of jungkook.

but then, the red dot he was following suddenly disappeared.

"fuck. i lost him."

"where was he last?" yoongi asked. namjoon gave the navigator to him. he was at the beach before he turned off his phone. "try to track taehyung."

namjoon typed something on his laptop while trying to find where taehyung is. his brows furrowed after his tracker showed the result. it took him some minutes after trying 5 times.

"why was he at the same beach as jungkook?" he whispered to himself, which yoongi didn't fail to hear. he was surprised, too, not able to catch up what's happening.

the last time they checked, they were finding jungkook. but now, they're in the same place?

"what if taehyung was following jungkook? or the other way around?" namjoon whispered again.

"call him."

┈┈┈┈․° ☣︎ °․┈┈┈┈

taehyung was already driving on the way to their house in daegu after visiting the beach where seokjin and him used to go when they were young.

his phone vibrated and he immediately answered it. it was a call from seokjin.

"yah, i'm with krystal," seokjin said.

"so?"

"we were stuck with these men. we're at the parking lot of this mall and they're currently finding us. i think they were in the same mafia, the one that chased us a year ago."

"you don't have guns?" taehyung asked.

"if we have, we shouldn't had called you to ask for help, dummy."

he just sighed before he turned off the phone. he was about to call namjoon to track their location, but right after the call, namjoon's name was already registered on his phone screen.

"hyung, can you track seokjin hyung and krystal?" he said right after he answered the call. he increased his speed, worried about the two.

"alright, i'm doing it. i have something to tell you too." he stayed quiet and waited for namjoon to say something. "i tracked jungkook. he was at the same place as you were. did you meet him?"

"jungkook? my jungkook?" he asked. his car screeched loudly after he pulled the brake.

"our jungkook. you didn't see him?" namjoon asked surprisingly.

"i didn't! he was at the beach too?"

"yes, he was. but he turned off his phone and i lost him. why am i tracking those two by the way?"

"they were stuck with some mafia goons."

"and they forgot their weapons again? they're in seoul!"

"aren't you in seoul too?"

"we're not. we're on our way to daegu after we tracked jungkook."

"fuck. drive fast. call the others and i'll get back to the beach."

he dropped the call without waiting for their response. he rounded a corner to take a u-turn and drove slowly on his way back to the beach, looking to the side mirror occasionally to see if someone's following him.

he's not too far from the beach. he stood where he last stood a while ago while turning around, searching for jungkook, hoping that he'll see him in the darkness.

"jeon jungkook!"

he searched and searched, but he didn't find a single clue about him. he just turned back, shoulders dropped, and tried to call namjoon.

he wasn't answering. he was worried about his brother and his friends.

he got in his car to think for a while. it will take him 3 hours to travel from daegu to seoul with his car, and he already spent an hour finding jungkook. if he goes there, he won't be able to help them because he'll surely be late. if he stayed here, he's not sure if he'll find him immediately. he doesn't know what to do.

he stayed in the beach for too long, why didn't he notice him?

finally, joon called him and told him to drive back home immediately. seokjin got injured and krystal passed out after seeing blood flowing on seokjin's arm. he got worried, so he traveled through the darkness of the night back to seoul.

┈┈┈┈․° ☣︎ °․┈┈┈┈

"so you were saying that jungkook's neighbor lied," taehyung said.

"namjoon hyung told me the news yesterday, and his neighbor confessed that jungkook paid her an amount to not tell their location," jimin said.

"oh, wow. we traveled the whole world, but he's just in daegu the whole time? woah, that was--"

"quite annoying, but atleast we know where he is now. why don't we all stay in your house while searching for him there?" namjoon asked taehyung.

"daegu's quite big. we won't find him easily," yoongi said.

"so you think daegu's bigger than the places we've been to?" krystal asked, rolling her eyes.

yoongi rolled his eyes back at her. after their meeting, they all decided to go for namjoon's plan. seokjin's arm was grazed by the bullet, but he was immediately treated and he was assured that his wound will heal in no time.

the next day, they all left their house and rode with their van. namjoon's at the back with yoongi on his side, helping him with the multiple devices he holds. on top of that, the daegu map connected to his tracker that will send an alarm notification if ever jungkook opens his phone again.

they're all doing different things while on their way to their destination. krystal and jimin were seating next to each other, playing a mobile game together. their voices were the only ones heard. hoseok was eyeing them the whole time, until he suddenly gets up and pushed krystal to the edge, so he sat in between them.

seokjin was on the passenger's seat next to taehyung, who was too preoccupied with his thoughts. seokjin turns his head to him from time to time, watching his expression change without him knowing.

until the whole car got loud that they can't even heard their own voices-- because of the alarm notification on namjoon's device.

"he's in yoongi's house!"

taehyung almost made the car screech, and the others almost jumped from their seats when namjoon shouted.

"how the fuck did he know my house?" yoongi asked.

no one knows. they just quietly gave the navigator to their driver. in just an hour, they will reach yoongi's house. they just hope jungkook won't get away immediately.

"is he still there?" taehyung asked. he stopped the car not too far away from yoongi's old place. 

"yes. he hasn't move a bit."

it gave yoongi nostalgic memories from the past. his seventeen-year-old self, a cook from a high school cafeteria with no definite future. he missed this road. where he always walked with taeyeon every saturday night while they were talking about life.

his life wasn't that good, but it's still memorable.

"ah, yoongi hyung's having a mental flashback. how cute," jimin teased. "thinking about your high school days?" he asked.

"do i look like someone who wastes time in school?" he hissed. he was the first one to walk towards his house. krystal laughed from behind, remembering how yoongi looked that time. while jimin was left wondering. he can't believe yoongi despises school so much that he didn't even study.

they were all breathless as soon as yoongi opened his front door. since he left, no one stayed in his place. he didn't even remember jungkook visiting here because he, himself, hadn't been home for years. also, jungkook wasn't originally from daegu.

"this is weird. joon, is he still here?"

"yeah."

"what if he threw his phone away and he wasn't really here?" hoseok said.

they stood frozen in their places. that's highly possible.

in no time, without even speaking, they all searched for jungkook's phone around yoongi's backyard. some went to the nearest trash can, some searching through the dead plants on the corner. funny how they can work as a team and do the same thing without even talking about it as if their minds are connected.

taehyung was busy going around, when a cold water splashed him from behind. he almost cursed, but when he looked at where it came from, he noticed an old woman watering her plants beside yoongi's house.

it seems like the old woman noticed someone staring at her, so she turned to look at taehyung's direction and smiled nicely. taehyung didn't want to look rude so he smiled too.

he was about to turn his back, when the old woman called him.

"hi, boy. are you new here?" she asked.

he went closer while still keeping a smile on his face. "oh, no. i just went to visit a friend's house because we're searching for someone."

"a friend? oh, you mean the person staying in this house? yoongi? are you with him?"

"yes! there he is, we're searching with the rest of our friends."

"i haven't seen him for years. i knew he would grow up as a handsome man," she said, all smiling. "did you say you were searching for someone?"

"yeah. he left us a year ago and we found out he was staying in daegu. it was odd, because he was originally from busan. he left us to take care of his dad--"

taehyung stopped speaking when he noticed the old woman looking at him, as if looking at the details of his face. he became conscious, so he coughed in embarrassment. he thought she was irritated because he told her too much.

"who was the guy, may i ask?"

he hesitated for a while, but he thought that maybe she would help and say something if ever she sees him around, so he told his name.

"his name is jeon jungkook."

the old woman smiled widely. "what's your name?"

"uhm... kim--"

"taehyung?"

he looked at her with wide eyes, wondering how she knows his name. is she a kind of a mind reader or something?

"you look familiar when you smiled so i called you to recall where i saw you. my grandson left our house yesterday but immediately came back and told us that he saw someone unexpectedly."

taehyung was getting breathless, the moment she said 'grandson'. he doesn't want to assume, but it looks like this conversation is going somewhere he expects it to be.

"i asked who, and he said he saw his love named kim taehyung. he showed me the photographed he captured on new year and he introduced to me and his dad."

he felt his eyes watering, and the lady's smile is getting warmer and warmer as she sees his expression.

"it was him, right?"

when he asked that, he was hopeful, that if she says no, he thinks his world will crumble again, like that moment he left him without words.

please say yes.

please.

"jeon jungkook is my grandson."

his knees collapsed to the ground as his tears finally streamed down his cheeks. he was so happy. his heart jumps in joy. he wanted to go to him right now and hug him tightly. he wanted to kiss him again. he wanted to hold his hand again. he wanted to do the things they missed to do for the past year.

the lady helped him get up again, her smile hasn't disappeared.

"i always catch him staring at your photos in his camera at night before he goes to sleep."

taehyung smiles as he thought of jungkook remembering him every now and then, just like how he does everytime.

suddenly, a man in a wheelchair came to their direction, his smile resembles jungkook's.

"good morning," the man greeted taehyung. he smiles and greeted back with a bow. "are you new in this village? why don't you come here for dinner later? my son cooks deliciously, he said he learned from a friend."

he smiled, assumed that the 'friend' he was talking about is seokjin, his brother. he also confirmed that it was jungkook's father. he was different compared to the one that jungkook told him.

jungkook said that he never smiles, that he was rude, he's always carrying a bottle of alcohol in his hand. but the father that he met right now is the opposite. maybe he had really changed when jungkook came back to take care of him.

although he wanted to be mad at jungkook for leaving them, he can't. maybe what jungkook said back then was right. that they wouldn't understand the point of coming back to the person that broke him because they don't have their parents afterall. maybe they were wrong, or maybe jungkook's softer than they thought.

"he's kookie's friend," the lady said.

"oh, my kookie has a friend? you must be taehyung?"

he nodded. he can't believe that jungkook's family knows his name. he wonders if they would they still smile at him when they knew what kind of relationship they had.

"tae! we can't-- oh. good morning!" krystal said, running towards them.

"krystal? is that you?" the lady asked. krystal's eyes narrowed, as if thinking who she is.

"oh! granny!"

he still can't believe how fate works. he remembered yoongi telling him that namjoon, krystal and hoseok used to live in his house before their house in seoul was built. and yoongi's neighbor ended up as jungkook's grandparents. so this is where he stayed for a year.

"are you kookie's friend too?" jungkook's father asked.

krystal looked shocked as she looked at taehyung, who knows everything and was just smiling all the time, excited about meeting jungkook again.

"yeah? you know him?" krystal asked politely.

"ah, looks like jungkook has a lot of explaining to do. he's inside. are you with hoseok too?" his grandma asked.

"yes! oh my gosh, granny, jungkook's your grandson? what a coincidence!"

"call them. let's talk inside."

she motioned taehyung to come with them inside while krystal calls the others.

"guys! you wouldn't believe what i found out!" krystal said, running towards them. the group came near her.

"what?"

"the red dot was lying. he wasn't in yoongi's place. he was there!" krystal said as she pointed out grandma's house.

"granny?" yoongi asked, surprise.

"sorry, i'm lost. who's granny?" jimin asked.

"she was our neighbor when hoseok, namjoon and i stayed at yoongi's place back then. she used to cook for us every lunch. and you wouldn't believe it, i swear."

"you said that twice. go straight," seokjin said, impatient.

"granny happened to be jungkook's grandma! his father was also there! i saw them! he invited all of us inside their house to talk and meet jungkook there!"

their mouths fall open. especially yoongi, who thought that the old couple living next to his house didn't have any children.

"so jungkook was there the whole year," namjoon said while they were walking towards the house.

while taehyung's already inside, his eyes wandering around the big house. granny walked upstairs to go to jungkook's room, where he always stays alone whenever he thinks about his friends.

"kookie?" his grandma knocked before she entered his room.

she saw jungkook holding his phone, scrolling through some messages. the messages taehyung sent that he failed to reply to. jungkook turned to look at her, eyes big, as if asking why.

"you have some visitors."

"me? who would visit me?" he asked.

"maybe those people you always look at every night? come down. they missed you so much."

jungkook's heart skipped a beat. he doesn't want to assume. the only friends he had are the seven people he abandoned. they can't be here. how did they find him?

after taehyung suddenly disappeared from the dark last night, he came back to their house and told his grandma that he saw him, but taehyung failed to recognize him. his grandma told him to stay in here for the meantime while he finds them.

and now, his grandma tells him that they are out there, wanting to talk to him.

he immediately got out, he almost tripped himself on the stairs just to get fast to the living room. and when he got there, he felt like his whole world stopped.

he confirmed that it was really taehyung's silhouette that he saw last night. and he was standing here, in front of him.

he really didn't like romantic movies. he sees them as something too overrated and the actors are over acting. he doesn't understand how lovers in movies give meaning to everything, that's why he liked watching docu films more.

but now, he understands how those guys in the movies feel. he knows where their reactions are coming from.

taehyung stares at him as if he found a treasure after years of mining underground. he didn't want to blink, scared that jungkook will disappear as soon as he takes his eyes away even just a second.

finally, he get to see his eyes again after nights of longing to stare at it closely, like how jungkook always does before they sleep. unlike before, taehyung's eyes was dull, as if his soul left him. it was dark and watery, his lips parted, for a minute, he forgot all the words he knew.

"tae," jungkook whispered, his mouth forming a subtle smile.

it was a cue for taehyung to run to him. they crashed into a tight hug, good thing jungkook kept his balance to kept them standing still. taehyung's already crying on his shoulder, sobbing hard, as if he wanted the whole world to know that he was crying in happiness after he found his love again.

taehyung put all his weight on jungkook. he couldn't feel himself anymore. and jungkook's knees felt week, too. they both ended up as a crying mess on the floor, letting out the tears they thought were gone after they cried themselves to sleep every night.

it took them a while to stop and pull themselves together. as they stood up, they were smiling already. they didn't notice the six people behind them, who didn't give them the chance to stand straight, because they all nudged at the two of them.

"omo, joonie's crying!" krystal teased even though her eyes were swollen too.

in fact, namjoon was crying because he can't bare to lose him. he treated him as his real brother. he loves him more than anyone does.

"you're late, hyung. you should've joined us on the floor a while ago," jungkook said.

it made them all laugh before they gathered on the dining room, the lunch granny prepared already resting on top of the table. as much as the others wanted jungkook's family to join them, they didn't want to. mr. jeon clearly told them to spend their time together. just the eight of them to cope up with how they were doing.

"you won't believe how taehyung cried in every places we went to. how could you do that? we spent dollars traveling abroad while you were just resting next to yoongi's house? woah, that was mean," krystal said while munching her food.

the others were just listening to her, letting her do the talking because throughout the year, she was the most angry about taehyung's decision.

taehyung wanted to look for jungkook through every country, while krystal doesn't want to do the trial and error method in finding him. she wanted to be sure on jungkook's whereabouts first before they get their asses off to new zealand that time.

their ideas were both sensible to the others, and in order to know who's decision will they follow, they settled it with-- rock, paper, scissors-- and taehyung won.

jungkook stayed there for the rest of the night with taehyung, while the six stayed in seokjin's house for the meantime. they will fetch the two tomorrow morning, because jungkook will finally live with them again in seoul.

"good thing you found me," jungkook said.

they were lying on jungkook's bed that night, cuddling while looking up on the ceiling, where glow in the dark stickers were pasted. almost the same as stargazing at artificial stars.

jungkook used to stare at those every night with sadness, but this night is different. because the person he wished through those stars is now beside him, hugging him as if he's the only thing that mattered in the whole universe.

"good thing we found each other," taehyung replied, which made jungkook smile.

"do you think seokjin hyung will forgive me?" he asked, pertaining about their fight that time when seokjin found out about his plan of leaving them.

"he already did. believe me, he totally forgot about that."

he leans in for a kiss-- the thing he was itching to do the moment he saw taehyung waiting for him to come out of his room.

the monochrome world he sees for the past year vanished the moment their lips touched. it's as peaceful as the night sky. they kissed like they owned the universe. like the world was made for them to find and love each other.

after that night, taehyung and jungkook became taehyung and jungkook. the only difference is they became one. not boyfriends, not dating. no labels, because it makes no sense. the two names that became one. inseparable. their names became synonymous to everything a person longs to have. happiness, strength, beauty,

and love.

┈┈┈┈․° ☣︎ °․┈┈┈┈

"so what kind of work you do?" jungkook's grandma asked.

the eight of them looked at each other, finding the right words to tell. they came back to fetch jungkook and taehyung because they're going back to seoul, but they have to bid goodbye to jungkook's family first.

"uh, it's kinda hard to explain--" namjoon said.

they can't just say that they were the bad guys that were always on the news. the kind of people that parents warned their kids about.

"i think we need to go now," jungkook said.

they all bid goodbye as they walk out and loaded the car. hoseok drove and jimin sat at the passenger seat beside him. on the last line sat seokjin and yoongi, both busy on learning how namjoon teaches them how to work on his tech. on the middle seat are taehyung and jungkook, krystal frowning at their sweetness.

"i don't really get why you're giving our seating arrangement. even school teachers doesn't care about where the fuck students seat," krystal whined, talking to hoseok.

"shut the fuck up jung soojung or you'll be walking your way down to seoul."

hoseok sounded serious when he called her on her real name. she used krystal as her alternative name since she learned how to speak english with namjoon, because it sounded more beautiful than her real name.

"okay, i'm lost. why did he call you soojung?" jungkook asked.

"it's my real name," krystal whispered. jungkook's mouth formed an 'oh' after he found out that krystal has another name. "so you don't know what my real name is? woah, i'm hurt!"

"me neither," taehyung said.

"what do you mean 'me neither'? we graduated together!" krystal's voice is becoming louder than usual, while taehyung was already smiling, knowing that she's getting pissed.

"you graduated together? aren't you old--" jungkook asked too, obvious that he's making krystal more angry.

"i'm not old, you brat!"

krystal was about to smack the two guys beside her, when jungkook suddenly asked, "why is hoseok hyung pissed, by the way?"

the whole van went quiet, hoseok's gaze almost pierced krystal the way he looked at her through the rear view mirror. taehyung was also waiting for some explanation, thinking what they have missed last night.

"we were waiting for krystal and jimin to come down earlier to have breakfast. i went to jimin's room but he wasn't there. guess where he was?" seokjin said, tone higher than usual, giving both krystal and jimin malicious looks.

taehyung laughed quietly as he looked at hoseok. he already knew what made him angry. while jungkook just looked at jimin in confusion.

"jimin hyung, where were you?" he asked. "did you get lost and hoseok hyung got worried?"

the others laughed. only krystal and jimin did not. they were both looking outside the windows, hiding their flushed cheeks. hoseok almost forgot that he was supposed to be angry because his laugh was the loudest.

"seokjin hyung found him sleeping beside krystal," yoongi explained, which made jungkook's mouth form a bigger 'oh'. so that's why hoseok didn't want them to sit together, huh.

knowing that krystal was the only girl in their group, they give her privacy. she gets special treatment from the boys. when they were traveling, if there were only two rooms, the boys will fit themselves in one room just to get the other room for krystal alone. they don't want to make her think that they were taking advantage of her, being a girl.

"and then?" taehyung suddenly asked. the others looked at him in return. "don't they always spend the night together?"

krystal palmed her face and jimin scratched his nape, knowing that taehyung's purposely throwing them shades.

"they do?" hoseok asked.

"yeah. you know, when jimin couldn't sleep, he goes to krystal's room and vice versa, to have a drink. they were basically a couple. don't you notice?"

hoseok let out a huge sigh as the guys at the back sang a love song for the two, teasing them.

nothing much really happened that night. like the usual, jimin just came in her room to have a drink, but it turns out that krystal was already having a drink by herself. they finished lots of bottles that jimin can't even stand up, he unknowingly slept on krystal's bed after he mistook it as his. of course, krystal wouldn't dare sleeping on the floor, plus she was drunk too. they ended up sleeping together that night.

"i swear, nothing happened. we were just drunk--"

"oh, you were drunk?" taehyung cut her off, eyes wide, acting surprised. "hoseok hyung, remember that jimin doesn't think clearly when he's drunk," he added. he's obviously putting the two at the edge.

hoseok didn't reply. he got angrier.

"i swear to god, kim taehyung. i'm gonna kill you," jimin said.

their three-hour drive didn't seem long because they were all chaotic the whole ride.

jungkook was the first one to got out as soon as hoseok parked their van at the garage. he was too excited to see their home. the others soon followed him.

"welcome home."

┈┈┈┈․° ☣︎ °․┈┈┈┈

"can i get--"

"no fucking way," krystal slapped yoongi's hand that was about to get one of her gummy bears in her bowl.

she was acting childish right now and yoongi's not in the mood to play along with her. he's not even the type to ask first before doing something but he still did it-- and all he gets is a slap? wow.

"huh, go eat all those gummy shits. just so you know, it has gelatin in it. and gelatin is made of horse's hooves, cow lips, pig's feet--"

"shut the fuck up min yoongi!"

"--and other nasty things that a brat like you won't eat. enjoy eating," he said.

krystal rolled her eyes as she puts the big bowl full of gummy candies on the table. she stood up to spit out the gummy thing in her mouth as yoongi successfully stole the bowl-- just to eat one piece of gummy.

"ayo!"

jimin's voice echoed through the whole living room as he goes in, chin up, walking towards yoongi and picks one gummy bear and slid it in his mouth.

"what do you think?" he asked yoongi.

"about your hair?"

"no, about global warming," jimin said as he rolls his eyes. "of course, duh?"

he just came back home after he dyed his hair into orange after losing a bet. this is the third time he changed his hair color, and one thing he realized is-- he looks better in whatever color he has.

yoongi snorted. "it looks ugly," he commented before he stood up to go in his room.

"don't blush, hyung!" jimin teased. yoongi threw him a glare, but he answered it with a wink.

yes. park jimin is the biggest flirt of the century.

on the other corner of the house sat hoseok and seokjin, holding their large glasses of beer, getting drunk under the sunlight. on the kitchen sat taehyung and jungkook, who are glued to each other the whole time.

"i really like your eyes," jungkook said in the middle of munching their snacks.

"why?"

"only one of them is monolid. it's unique."

"really?" taehyung grabbed his phone to look at his eyes.

"you mean you didn't know that until now? don't you look at your own reflection?"

"i don't look at the mirror for too long."

"and why?" jungkook asked, smiling widely, because he already know what he's about to answer.

"i might fall in love with me if i stare too much."

"i knew it!"

they shared a laugh at taehyung's cockiness. he's saying the truth, though. he's so beautiful that anyone who stares at him for a long time might fall in love with him--- and he was included in that anyone. he doesn't want to be like his brother who's more than willing to marry himself. it's jungkook's job to love taehyung, anyways.

"guys!"

namjoon's voice echoed around the house. the rest of them gathered around him immediately. he stood up and looked at each of them. he did the thing he used to do.

head count.

they were eight.

finally, they were complete, like puzzle pieces that formed a great image.

and since they are all here, it just means one thing.

"let's get back to work."

and they all smiled.


End file.
